0:00:00you
0:00:02the incomparable number 348 April 2017
0:00:09welcome back everybody to the
0:00:12incomparable i am your host Jason Snell
0:00:14we are convening another edition of old
0:00:17movie club Oh movie club these movies
0:00:22are so old they're from kids sit down
0:00:24they're from the 1970s Wow is that
0:00:27before light bulbs yes old time they had
0:00:30to settle are a very large fire had to
0:00:32be set in order to project the film well
0:00:35I was it was a long long time ago in
0:00:38this edition we're going to be talking
0:00:40about two coming of age movies from the
0:00:4470s one set in the 70s and one set in
0:00:46the sixth early 60s feels like the 50s
0:00:50but it's the early 60s although by the
0:00:52time it's over it feels like the 80s hmm
0:00:54interesting we'll get there joining us
0:00:56to talk about this first off the person
0:00:58who selected the films as he usually
0:01:01does an old movie club mr. Philip
0:01:02Michaels I Phil you know I i would like
0:01:05to point out the the the most recent of
0:01:08these movies Breaking Away is thirty
0:01:10eight damn years old and if when I was
0:01:13eighteen watching a 38 year old movie it
0:01:15would have been made in 1950 so you know
0:01:18where we're all old old time marches on
0:01:22oh I know yeah the seven the 70 is a
0:01:24decade and in which I believe all of us
0:01:27were born far away now yes yes in short
0:01:33i'm closer to death and birth good night
0:01:36everyone hey this has been old movie
0:01:40also joining us on the on the old movie
0:01:43highway Lisa Schmeisser hello hi there
0:01:46I'm pondering my mortality no wishing I
0:01:48work well you know whose fault that is
0:01:50it's Steve Lutz it's always my fault
0:01:52yeah i was gonna blame Phil actually but
0:01:54I'm happy let's blame Steve just because
0:01:56there would you like to roll some balls
0:01:59and also yeah on this old movie club I
0:02:03believe perhaps his first time in our
0:02:05old movie club its John siracusa despite
0:02:07the math the math in quotes that I just
0:02:10heard I would like to file a formal
0:02:11protest against this being an old movie
0:02:13club these movies can't pasa
0:02:16we be all I another counter fresh and
0:02:18modern and I watched him a million times
0:02:19when I was a kid and I'm practically
0:02:21still a kid so someone's doing something
0:02:23wrong you're a child at heart you're the
0:02:25guy that's iffy for Team old membership
0:02:27as I recall yeah you keep trying to get
0:02:30in and we keep rejecting you because
0:02:31you're not quite old enough all right
0:02:33Phil I guess we should start
0:02:35chronologically right so 1973 American
0:02:38Graffiti American Graffiti clearly
0:02:41George Lucas's best work oh oh no I i
0:02:46well we can talk about that later but it
0:02:49is it should talk about that now we're
0:02:50talking about America okay sure yeah I I
0:02:54will show my s certainly George Lucas's
0:02:56most personal work because it is it is
0:02:59basically him doing a movie about uh hit
0:03:03his teenage years in modesto yeah about
0:03:07him if if the wiki stories are to be
0:03:10believed well basically every one of
0:03:12these characters is supposedly him at
0:03:14some stages young life although I find
0:03:16that highly obstacle sydenham to know I
0:03:18actually think that's a fairly accurate
0:03:20thing and that that I think helps
0:03:23explain why the ron howard and and
0:03:25richard dreyfuss characters are vaguely
0:03:26distinguishable but it basically it is
0:03:31the the last night before the
0:03:33aforementioned Richard Dreyfuss and
0:03:35Andrade Howard are going to go off to
0:03:37college and they are going to spend it
0:03:41the way apparently you spent nights in
0:03:43the early 1960s in modesto screws enfora
0:03:47yeah you you cruise around town it's
0:03:49actually san rafael that they're driving
0:03:51around san rafael in petaluma both towns
0:03:53that I recognized them we could pick out
0:03:56the different locations and those since
0:03:58I live not far away from both of those
0:04:00locations it's you could you could see
0:04:02it but I grew up not too far from
0:04:04Modesto and when I when I was a kid they
0:04:07was cruising was still a thing he has
0:04:09nothing else to do just drive your car
0:04:10around that's a lot cruising in my town
0:04:13of course they did it was Sandra that's
0:04:15what may be dated cooler that's what
0:04:18made a cooler than it was outlawed and
0:04:20you would do it anyway now Jason as a
0:04:23comment that's made early on by by the
0:04:26John character the the holomap yes the
0:04:29fellow who
0:04:30never grown up and is stuck as the as
0:04:33the number one racer and he's kind of
0:04:35locked into this this state of being for
0:04:38the remainder of his short life as it
0:04:40turns out but his comment early on is
0:04:43that things are already starting to fade
0:04:45in terms of the cruising scene and I'm
0:04:47curious when you came up was the
0:04:49cruising scene just limping along was
0:04:51there like one car driving back and
0:04:53forth in front of the dairy queen during
0:04:54Jason's rookie season on the cruising
0:04:56I'm occurs in circuit no in fact I have
0:04:58to say um by the time I was a teenager
0:05:01cruising was not a thing but when my
0:05:03brother who was born in 1964 when he was
0:05:05a teenager so let's say the very early
0:05:0780s it was still hanging on but by the
0:05:10mid to late 80s it was gone hmm that's
0:05:13my cruising knowledge for you there Oh
0:05:14in Tidewater Virginia where I I first
0:05:16became a teenager cruising was actually
0:05:18still a thing in the 80s but to be fair
0:05:20the joke about Newport News and I was
0:05:23growing up was set your clock back 60
0:05:24years perhaps it was just breaking onto
0:05:26the city but yeah it was it was what I
0:05:30liked about this movie in part was how
0:05:32effortlessly it captures this year
0:05:34pointlessness of your teenagers Friday
0:05:35night especially especially if it does
0:05:37revolve around cruisin like I kept I
0:05:39kept looking over at fill-ins saying I
0:05:41can't relate directly to these
0:05:42experiences but it is hitting all sorts
0:05:44of emotional chords I thought I had
0:05:46successfully repressed if 1980s George
0:05:50child of the 1980s George Lucas is
0:05:52making this movie it's it's hanging out
0:05:54in the mall probably it's going to the
0:05:56the hot dog on a stick and there's a
0:05:58love Zeppelin soundtrack behind it
0:05:59because you know get the net out with
0:06:01something that happened on every rock
0:06:03radio station at nine o'clock at night
0:06:05where you'd be sitting here listening to
0:06:07music that was already much older than
0:06:09you were and wondering why where's our
0:06:11music and yeah so to continue
0:06:13introducing the characters we've we've
0:06:15met John Paula Matt who's the s who's
0:06:18the fastest driver in the valley and
0:06:21drag races and a bit of a cautionary
0:06:23tale to because as steve says to kurt
0:06:25early on you want to end up like John
0:06:27yeah stuck in the town forever and then
0:06:31of course a toad who is I guess it still
0:06:35a high school student and and still
0:06:37hanging out with these guys and and
0:06:39really something of a
0:06:41a nerd linger something of a point
0:06:44Dexter it's charles martin smith
0:06:46accredited as charlie martin smith to
0:06:48make him cool you stole teenager you
0:06:51know on howard were both the only
0:06:52teenagers on set and his mom probably
0:06:54still called him charlie so you know
0:06:56that's right he does know how to rock a
0:06:58pink sailor suit though so that's some
0:07:00this is the way to think of charles
0:07:02martin smith in this in this is i wrote
0:07:04down he's playing the rick moranis part
0:07:06it's yeah pretty much yes ten years
0:07:08earlier the first time i saw rick
0:07:09moranis i was horribly confused for my
0:07:12money he gets the best lines in the
0:07:13picture as well we're introduced to him
0:07:15actually um he rides in on his scooter
0:07:18and crashes in mediating machine yeah
0:07:22and and that that was not in the script
0:07:24that was charles martin smith
0:07:25legitimately crashing into into things
0:07:28and they decided i'll leave it in
0:07:30Charlie okay all right we'll take it and
0:07:32as fortuitous that they did because that
0:07:34sets the tone for him peering like if he
0:07:36hit if he had successfully landed that
0:07:37Vespa it would be harder to sell him as
0:07:40the bumbling hapless nerd that he is the
0:07:42whole way through I mean this is a guy
0:07:43who loses everything all night long he
0:07:47finds whole new ways to lose right we
0:07:49follow the adventures of the this group
0:07:51of four friends as they circle the same
0:07:54real estate in modesto from from dusk
0:07:59till dawn so we've got John and we've
0:08:01got charlie martin smith as Terry the
0:08:04toad and and we we haven't we haven't
0:08:07that we have two other fellow I heard
0:08:08yes Kurt who is Richard Dreyfuss yeah uh
0:08:12who who has a bit of the cold feet about
0:08:14going off to college and we have Ronnie
0:08:17Howard as Steve who just just wants to
0:08:21get out of town who apparently cannot
0:08:23wait to get out yeah and is so and is so
0:08:25eager to get out of town he he tells his
0:08:29girlfriend who is Curt's sister played
0:08:33by Cindy Williams who you'll recognize
0:08:35as Shirley of TVs Laverne and Shirley
0:08:37Telles are basically fair we're gonna
0:08:40see other people but we're still going
0:08:42steady okay and an arrangement that she
0:08:45is not entirely sold off I think this
0:08:48might be a relevant point to point out
0:08:50that this is a film that launched to ABC
0:08:53sitcoms right
0:08:54because it's hard not to look at the
0:08:56success of this movie and say this is
0:08:57why happy days featuring Ron Howard was
0:09:00created and Laverne and Shirley
0:09:02featuring Cindy Williams they're both
0:09:03guess said in the 50s aww it comes on
0:09:06ABC I know that the Happy Days pilot was
0:09:08actually shot before American Graffiti
0:09:10but with the success of this film
0:09:11basically ABC said 50s nostalgia is the
0:09:16bee's knees baby and these shows were
0:09:19created with these to activate happy
0:09:21days was American Graffiti and love
0:09:23American style uh having a beautiful
0:09:25baby together and calling it Fonzarelli
0:09:28so that was um yeah and then the
0:09:34audience cheers is the baby crowns and
0:09:36is horrifying no the baby was delivered
0:09:39right over a shark though strange how
0:09:41that happen shot across the room and ran
0:09:44into a jukebox that had been broken yes
0:09:46yeah suddenly started playing a little
0:09:48Bailey Bill Haley in the Comets put a
0:09:50glove on the little bottle and waved
0:09:52goodbye as it goes down the conveyor
0:09:53belt we lameos schlemazel so now we
0:09:57enter a critical point in the recapping
0:10:00of American Graffiti in that the movie
0:10:02jumps around from from scene to scene as
0:10:05these four friends spent absolutely no
0:10:08time together on their final night
0:10:10together yes without spoiling a lot one
0:10:12of the things that you brought up and I
0:10:14apologize we're now skipping through
0:10:15this podcast like yeah we totally skip
0:10:17the movie just like American Graffiti
0:10:19we're skipping around to the better yeah
0:10:21but one of the one of the things that
0:10:22Phil brought up when you're watching
0:10:23Breaking Away as he said I cannot for
0:10:26the life of me figure out why these guys
0:10:27all remained friends and i replied well
0:10:31it was it was it's it's a friendship of
0:10:33geographical convenience because these
0:10:36guys have probably all known each other
0:10:37since they were kindergartners right and
0:10:39they're their parents are probably
0:10:41intertwined in some ways there's always
0:10:43been pressure to hang out you know
0:10:44suddenly go we're having a BBQ blitz on
0:10:46so the hill you'll see Stevie or what
0:10:48have you and you know aside from the
0:10:51circumstances that they shared there's
0:10:53not a whole lot to bond them and so when
0:10:55I was watching American Graffiti right
0:10:57feel it did make sense that they were
0:10:58just kind of splintering off and doing
0:10:59their own thing because as far as they
0:11:03were concerned two of their number were
0:11:04already headed out of the valley and
0:11:05therefore they were automatically taking
0:11:07them cell
0:11:08off that we have something in common
0:11:09list by virtue of leaving they were
0:11:11declaring themselves outsiders the whole
0:11:13tone of this movie I mean this is the
0:11:15end of the summer this is the last
0:11:18hurrah the friends are going off to
0:11:20school you it is about like a last you
0:11:23know everything is ending so them them
0:11:25splitting apart and going their own
0:11:26separate ways on the night is you know
0:11:28that's what they're going to do anyway
0:11:30we've been having fun all summer long
0:11:31and now it's over I find it really
0:11:33interesting that Steve for all of his
0:11:35valedictory ax Brava Brava about getting
0:11:38out of there spends the most time
0:11:39retracing his high school steps over and
0:11:42over again like between the sock hop and
0:11:44his inadvertent discovery that when you
0:11:48tell a girl you're gonna see other
0:11:49people she's gonna she's going to take
0:11:50that information and run with it um you
0:11:54know he talked a big game about getting
0:11:56out but I kind of feel like his end like
0:11:58the ending of his movie was was pretty
0:11:59much pretty well to help Telegraph by
0:12:01the end of Act one so so let me leap in
0:12:03there and here's how we will tell the
0:12:06tale I will I'll sort of summarize the
0:12:09stories of the four characters in the
0:12:12order that I find them interesting I
0:12:15like two quick issues that I have before
0:12:17we go good yeah go ahead Steve first of
0:12:19all and this is just a personal problem
0:12:21I suspect but as with every film i have
0:12:24ever seen with richard dreyfuss in it
0:12:26something about him just makes me want
0:12:28to punch him i'm not sure what it is in
0:12:30this movie he's particularly bad because
0:12:32he's being wishy-washy and i like it
0:12:33does is it i don't know if i'm gonna go
0:12:36to college and i just don't give a rat's
0:12:38ass if he goes or not but there's just
0:12:40something about the way he carries
0:12:41himself that just it's it's hard for me
0:12:43to enjoy anything that he's in and this
0:12:45one is particularly bad the second the
0:12:47second is that one of the main bhi plots
0:12:49of this thing that the Terry the toad B
0:12:51plot is contingent on Steve deciding
0:12:55he's going to let toad have his car
0:12:57while he's away yeah watch it he's not
0:13:00giving it to him who does that oh yeah
0:13:03we opened his his his first act as a car
0:13:06washer is to take off in it and rifle
0:13:08way and Steve seems okay with it he's
0:13:10got his mind on other things yeah i
0:13:12think it's it's steve fancies himself is
0:13:16this benevolent and now little man i
0:13:18give this watch to you
0:13:20curious I'm on to bigger and better
0:13:21pastures I kept this car this cold hard
0:13:25lump of Detroit steel I am the king of
0:13:28Modesto high or wherever and now i'm
0:13:31going to hand it on to you and this will
0:13:33make you as cool as I was it's Riley
0:13:36Allard I think that I I think that part
0:13:39of it was i'm giving you the car because
0:13:40i've grown too big for this town I've
0:13:43grown too big for this relationship I've
0:13:44grown too big for the scene totally damn
0:13:47I don't know beggars belief to me that
0:13:49anybody would will his car to the nerdy
0:13:51friend it's more like you can you can
0:13:53you know just check on it but it's going
0:13:55to be up on blocks and with a tarp on it
0:13:58and don't touch it just just make sure
0:14:00it's still there but in cities like now
0:14:02drive it around to do whatever and have
0:14:04fun Terry the toad proceeds to do so I
0:14:07have a casual relationship with
0:14:08insurances all right yeah it's I feel
0:14:12like the whole reason that Steve is
0:14:13different from kurt i think is that
0:14:15steve has this fantasy in his head of
0:14:18how it's going to work out like he's
0:14:20going to leave in a a love teary
0:14:24goodbyes they'll town will recognize
0:14:26that their lesser without him and and
0:14:28he's off like he's got this whole
0:14:29fantasy in his head about everything
0:14:31will freeze in amber the minute he
0:14:33leaves because he can't conceive of life
0:14:35in that town going on without it like
0:14:36that's just the way he's wired whereas
0:14:38Kurt is terrified that if he leaves and
0:14:41things change without him it proves that
0:14:42he didn't matter at all and you know I
0:14:45think I think that's I think the
0:14:46fundamental differences is that Steve
0:14:48never really planned to leave Steve
0:14:50always just wanted to show the town he
0:14:51was better than they were this episode
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0:16:17incomparable thank you same box for
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0:16:23incomparable i'm also going to throw in
0:16:25a defense of richard dreyfuss here who
0:16:28i'm not good luck with it I know I know
0:16:31I'm not going to convince you I I don't
0:16:33have the same the Richard Dreyfuss that
0:16:36let's face it lots of Americans have um
0:16:391970s Richard Dreyfuss was really really
0:16:43went on a bit of a winning streak and
0:16:45this was sort of the the beginning of
0:16:47that because in a four year period he
0:16:48did this he did the apprenticeship of
0:16:51duddy kravitz he did jaws he did close
0:16:54encounters of the third kind and then he
0:16:56he capped that off with the goodbye girl
0:16:58for which he won an Oscar so that's
0:17:00that's that's a nice little run of
0:17:01movies there where Richard Dreyfuss
0:17:04could do no wrong even if some people
0:17:07might have wanted to punch him even in
0:17:11Jaws which I dearly love is a film that
0:17:13there's something about him that just
0:17:14makes me want to slug him just haul off
0:17:16and pop him one that's like such a great
0:17:18part of the character in Jaws though the
0:17:20idea that yeah that's definitely
0:17:21punchable outside because he is so
0:17:24condescending to ya you're gonna shine
0:17:26yes was no boating accident yes yeah it
0:17:30works in Jaws here here it kind of takes
0:17:32away from my enjoyment but that's my
0:17:34care hmm alright but um okay so the four
0:17:38plots the aforementioned toad getting
0:17:40the car and going up yeah the Ulysses
0:17:44like journey of self-discovery
0:17:47he tries to pick up a girl now that he
0:17:50has a car at his disposal and actually
0:17:52succeeds because he manages to meet
0:17:55Debbie who is played by a bouffant 'add
0:17:57candy clark uh in one of my favorite
0:18:01performances in the movie um bit of an
0:18:04odd duck yeah she I just love the
0:18:08perfect perfect foil or kind of Mentor
0:18:11figure really for toad though yeah right
0:18:14she gives toad and education well the
0:18:17fact that she is so weird makes it okay
0:18:19that toad is clearly punching above his
0:18:21weight class when he manages to get her
0:18:23in the car it's not hard to do for dough
0:18:25yeah but you you looking go okay she's
0:18:28she's baddie so obviously you wouldn't
0:18:31she would get in the car with with it
0:18:34with toad and they they go on an
0:18:35adventure that includes toad trying to
0:18:37buy liquor largely unsuccessfully until
0:18:40he's helped out by a helpful um
0:18:42convenience store robber yes uh toad
0:18:46drinking too much liquor toad getting
0:18:48the car stolen from him toad discovering
0:18:51the car towed getting beat up by the
0:18:52people who have stolen the car until
0:18:54he's saved by a Palo mad yeah his
0:18:58fortuitous arrival who in honor since
0:19:01John syracuse's on the podcast the deus
0:19:03ex machina no that's rated where he
0:19:06swoops in and saves um uh saves a toad
0:19:11so amazingly car graphite boy yes watch
0:19:15out John Woo I like the fight because it
0:19:19shows exactly how dumb and pointless and
0:19:20confusing these things tend to be well I
0:19:22would have but that's fine but I don't
0:19:24think they could have done better making
0:19:26it look like maybe one or two as punches
0:19:27landed mmm they would kind of look like
0:19:29they were like like a wrestling worthy
0:19:31you know siblings wrestling in their
0:19:33pajamas look more real than that funny
0:19:35but I think I think that is a byproduct
0:19:37of we we have X amount of dollars to to
0:19:41make this movie and we're not doing
0:19:43reshoots so they didn't have the thought
0:19:45technology of quick cuts so it's like
0:19:47well you know this is how long you hold
0:19:48shots and if you people are fumbling
0:19:50against each other is there's no way to
0:19:52fix that it's not like we can make a cut
0:19:53every two seconds or every one second
0:19:55they didn't know you know John Lucas's
0:19:57original script had them fighting from
0:19:59separate couches
0:20:00so I really enjoy the toad storyline I
0:20:04just it is um both very funny very
0:20:09heartwarming very cringe-inducing and um
0:20:11I I think he is one of the more
0:20:14identifiable characters in the movie
0:20:16because who among us doesn't feel like
0:20:20toad where we're trying to to blend in
0:20:24and and look cool and we know deep down
0:20:27in our hearts we can sit in that
0:20:29beautiful car and and no one's going to
0:20:31to be fooled well yep what is his arc
0:20:35though like he ends but we're gonna skip
0:20:37to the end of the night but at the end
0:20:39of the night he ends like he's
0:20:41dishevelled his glasses are broken he's
0:20:43gotten beaten up he's sitting on the
0:20:44curb talking to Debbie and and she's
0:20:47like well you know maybe you can call me
0:20:49like we had actually had a good time she
0:20:52describes her you know we had a good
0:20:54time because here's what we did maybe
0:20:56that was fun for her to watch all those
0:20:58things happen to him like a sort of an
0:21:00observer but toes gotta be saying that's
0:21:03your idea of a good time like why would
0:21:05I sign up for that again why am I ever
0:21:06gonna give you a call is like the idea I
0:21:08feel like you just described his arc as
0:21:09he's had that moment of realization
0:21:11trees like this is bull and you know
0:21:14he's gonna take that observation it's
0:21:16going to make him feel better about
0:21:17being left out of the social flow for
0:21:20the next 12 months but is he gonna call
0:21:22her but she's like maybe you can call me
0:21:23sometime you seem like you never get it
0:21:25well yeah my sense is his arc is all
0:21:27that happened but I've got a girl now I
0:21:29don't know that's a good match that's
0:21:33one of my meta problems with this whole
0:21:35movie is that kind of the the lesson
0:21:37there are various lessons of the but
0:21:39like the ideal that everyone is
0:21:42character seems to be shooting for is an
0:21:43ideal that doesn't really sound that
0:21:46appealing it seems like you need a
0:21:47follow-up movie for them to all learn
0:21:49that the ideal that they were all
0:21:50shooting course it was also a lie but
0:21:52that's not this movie well there's more
0:21:53American Graffiti come out either no it
0:21:57really isn't but John what you just
0:21:58articulated the idea that this ideal
0:22:00that you're shooting for is really it
0:22:02falls short of what you could do or it
0:22:05doesn't quite meet up with the hype I
0:22:07feel like that's also one of the points
0:22:09which is that these guys have invested
0:22:11so much emotional capital
0:22:14into this this whole scene and who they
0:22:16are and how they interact with people
0:22:17and is it really worth it and some of
0:22:20them are like oh no it's not whereas
0:22:22some yeah and I think that's one of
0:22:25those pivotal things you learn in
0:22:26adolescence to is is you have your own
0:22:28moment where you look around and you
0:22:30realize I have been prioritizing
0:22:34something completely wrong and wow the
0:22:36scales have fallen from my eyes you know
0:22:38I again I one of the reasons I had like
0:22:40a full body cringe in this entire movie
0:22:42is because he kept nailing all of the
0:22:45notes that go into being like 16 17 18
0:22:48years old and beginning to try to
0:22:52imagine or articulate the life that
0:22:55you're going to have passed high school
0:22:56and passed these people that you've been
0:22:58thrown with wholly by accident or
0:23:00circumstance for the entirety of your
0:23:02life yeah I do get that I get like
0:23:04pervasive sadness over this whole movie
0:23:07of like of a thing coming to an end like
0:23:10it yeah this movie knows that everything
0:23:12you see here has to come to an end it's
0:23:13that I think I'm staking taking it a
0:23:14step further insight not only is
0:23:16everything this movie have to come to an
0:23:17end but the even if it didn't or even
0:23:19when it was happening was also very
0:23:21horrible and I mean well get to the
0:23:23ending ending where they have the gut
0:23:24punch of the faces over the sky as the
0:23:26the final ending of the movie i guess
0:23:28that's their way of fast forwarding is
0:23:29sake and by the way these kids still
0:23:31don't know what the hell's and starve
0:23:32them take a look at this yeah yeah I
0:23:33love that up along it's crap sandwich
0:23:35all around yeah enjoy hope you like the
0:23:38movie welcome to the 70s I think the
0:23:40reason Phil demanded that I be in this
0:23:42podcast is um we watched an epilogue and
0:23:45I turned to him and I said you know the
0:23:46first time I watched this movie I
0:23:47watched with my parents when I was like
0:23:4912 or 13 years old and we got to the
0:23:52epilogue and I remember like I remember
0:23:55feeling so shocked and so betrayed by
0:23:58the fact that two of these characters
0:23:59like then died off screen oh and one of
0:24:03them never goes back to the hometown in
0:24:05the one of them stays and I was upset
0:24:07that they killed the characters and then
0:24:09what upset me further was realizing that
0:24:11again I was like these guys didn't
0:24:13matter to each other they had lives that
0:24:15I said they just didn't matter they had
0:24:17lives that moved on my parents yeah this
0:24:18is what happens after high school is the
0:24:20people that you spend all this time with
0:24:21it doesn't matter what they do because
0:24:23their lives are not your lives and you
0:24:25have to you have to learn how to you
0:24:27have to learn how to
0:24:27move past that and so I think when I saw
0:24:30American Graffiti in a really pivotal
0:24:32age where it's like yeah you don't know
0:24:33what's going to happen and you don't
0:24:35know and and no one's life is going to
0:24:36affect you like your own life choices to
0:24:38you that was that was crystallized for
0:24:40me watching that movie in that epilogue
0:24:42they also tell you don't get into cars
0:24:43with strange men the other big lesson of
0:24:47the movie is if you're walking down the
0:24:49street to be fair no no one ever asked
0:24:51me so is never initiated don't be like
0:24:54me all right sure thank you for that
0:24:57segue John because that leads me to the
0:24:59next plot point which is John's Paula
0:25:04Matt's story line whereas he is driving
0:25:08around trying to cruise for girls he
0:25:11runs into a car full of giggly girls and
0:25:14says hey why don't you want to ride with
0:25:15me well you doesn't matter which one
0:25:17yeah you can go with the this girl's
0:25:19sister oga sister Carol Judy's sister
0:25:22Carol Judy's sister Carol is 12 yeah
0:25:25yeah yes Mackenzie Phillips was 12 when
0:25:28she filmed all that mm-hmm and um
0:25:30realizes he has been had spends much of
0:25:36the rest of the movie just fuming about
0:25:38the the evening that he's been dealt I
0:25:41love that though I love her oh you know
0:25:43it's a it's such a very um sweet
0:25:46interaction between those two where he
0:25:48becomes a little bit of her Protectorate
0:25:52what I what I like about this um segment
0:25:55is it I haven't really studied George
0:25:58Lucas I get the assumption that he
0:26:00really likes westerns cuz the paula mack
0:26:02storyline he it's it's the it's the
0:26:04gunslinger it's Shane he is the
0:26:07protector and he and he drives around
0:26:10town and then and everyone says oh
0:26:12there's a guy gunning for you and he
0:26:14said yeah yeah I know and I I just
0:26:19really like the the interactions between
0:26:21him and and Mackenzie Phillips which I
0:26:25think are delightful well he's set up to
0:26:28at the beginning like one of these
0:26:30things is not like the other like he is
0:26:31teased way too cool for the other guys
0:26:34it's kind of amazing that they speak
0:26:35he's got his fancy car and all of that
0:26:38and so his story gets to be different
0:26:41from the other stories where he's got he
0:26:43gets saddled with this 12 year old girl
0:26:45and he can't find her sister and what I
0:26:48love about that is that that my
0:26:49expectation for this character is
0:26:51completely undermined by the fact that
0:26:54he doesn't dump around the side of the
0:26:55road he talks to her and he's annoyed
0:26:58about it but he like he talks to her he
0:26:59takes care of her they have a rapport
0:27:01and yeah you know it's going in that
0:27:03direction but it's fun because that is
0:27:05not what I expected when I you know when
0:27:08you first see him he's super cool so of
0:27:11course hoodlum yes he runs afoul of the
0:27:13cops he's a troublemaker he pulls down
0:27:16Terry the toads pants right in front of
0:27:18the girl at the drive is yeah but a
0:27:20rogue but he has an affection for the
0:27:21younger ones he's like the older brother
0:27:23like why is he even talking to that me
0:27:24so much older than they are he was out
0:27:26of high school long before they were out
0:27:27of high school because he never left
0:27:29high school yeah all right all right all
0:27:30right now his talk about not wanting to
0:27:32go to the sock hop he's he's the one
0:27:35that's the most stunted in terms of this
0:27:36progression but but he is hanging out
0:27:38with them so i think his glory days were
0:27:39in high school and the reason he hangs
0:27:41out with these younger people is because
0:27:42they're still going to regard him as
0:27:44having some patina of success or cool
0:27:46whereas people his own age or look right
0:27:48through them yeah because they recognize
0:27:50that you know they recognize that he's
0:27:52on the fast track to nowhere he's not
0:27:54getting the Moose Lodge well that's why
0:27:55he loves Terry to Terry the toad who
0:27:57because there's that big boosterism at
0:27:59the end where you know he's recognizing
0:28:01you know why he was gonna beat me and
0:28:03I'm getting old Terry's like no no
0:28:06you're still the greatest been number
0:28:08one always your number-one for another
0:28:10year anyway always have a height man
0:28:12yeah although I want to point out with
0:28:14the Paula Matt character is um the guys
0:28:17I knew who were like this used to just
0:28:19put girls into two different categories
0:28:21which were these are the girls I want to
0:28:23have things to do with and these are the
0:28:26girls that I I don't for whatever reason
0:28:29I don't find them attractive they're too
0:28:30young whatever and so while I think it's
0:28:32great that Paula mods character is the
0:28:34protector and so on and so forth it's
0:28:36also broadcasting pretty clearly that
0:28:38he's he's put her in a bucket where
0:28:40she's untouchable or what have you it
0:28:41does again reemphasize the cheese is
0:28:44well years old yes that's a sensible is
0:28:47not even for some people though I mean
0:28:49of that is a good bucket to put the
0:28:51twelfth year old yeah but he's not
0:28:53making comments like oh
0:28:54see you way too girl it's not like I
0:28:55don't know if anything ever suffered
0:28:57through the movie beautiful girls um but
0:28:59there's a really creepy plotline in
0:29:01there in which a teenage Natalie Portman
0:29:03is repeatedly flinging herself at
0:29:05timothy hutton and he basically
0:29:07intimates that were not for the fact
0:29:09that there's like a decade to half age
0:29:10difference between them and society
0:29:12friends and that sort of thing he you
0:29:14know oh you know if only you were older
0:29:16we get along like a house on fire or
0:29:17whatever and like that doesn't happen
0:29:19here it's sweet that's the thing I kind
0:29:21of find unexpected about it it does
0:29:23remind me the thing that it may even be
0:29:26a touchdown for them is James Franco in
0:29:28freaks and geeks has his sort of soft
0:29:32spot for the for the load for the geeks
0:29:35for the you know Lindsay's younger
0:29:37brother and his friends he's Carlos
0:29:38right with the dungeons and dragons oh
0:29:40yeah exactly it reminds me of that a
0:29:42little bit where where this is a nice
0:29:44fun story where you got the totally
0:29:46toughest nails cool guy and and and it's
0:29:50revealed he's a decent human being
0:29:51underneath that's his dark secret is
0:29:53that is that he's not gonna leave her on
0:29:55the side of the road and that in fact
0:29:56they had this conversation he treats her
0:29:58he doesn't treat her creepily she
0:30:00doesn't she you know she it's yeah i
0:30:02loved it I thought it was great it's
0:30:04only undercuts slightly by these sort of
0:30:06sexual politics of the time being played
0:30:08for laughs in terms of one of her first
0:30:10things is to be like holding over his
0:30:12head oh there's a cop I'll scream all
0:30:14scream than being raped yeah I had that
0:30:16went his way to get her out of the car
0:30:18to be like okay now I have to pretend
0:30:19I'm coming on to you which it still
0:30:21works in the context like look this is
0:30:22this is the only way to show this kid
0:30:24that she's not ready for what she thinks
0:30:26she's ready for and yet the way he I
0:30:29don't know if he was supposed to be as
0:30:30awkward or it's some really bad script
0:30:32writing like I can't imagine that you
0:30:34have to show him trying to come on to
0:30:36her and the lines that he has to say and
0:30:38how he says them it's it's the worst
0:30:40ever anyway like I don't can you really
0:30:43be that much of a nice guy and do that
0:30:45Bluff like I don't that's that's
0:30:47borderline creepy but all of it within
0:30:50the context of the movie fits because
0:30:51like this is the whole mechanic this is
0:30:53you know predator and prey cruising
0:30:55around in your cars and this is the
0:30:58mechanic that everyone has accepted they
0:30:59were all participating in this game to
0:31:01no end that any of them can discern
0:31:03and so it can be used as a plot device
0:31:06in this in this story arc but it was
0:31:08those are too awkward them I'm gonna
0:31:10chalk it up to bad script writing mainly
0:31:12because this is a script that also
0:31:13features the exchange I can get tough
0:31:15with you too you know hard guy it's just
0:31:20it's hard to tell what was supposed to
0:31:21be you know yeah want on what was just
0:31:24unintentional yeah it's not some of it
0:31:27might be bad screenwriting and some of
0:31:28it might be I'm writing dialogue the
0:31:30teenagers would say so I feel like a
0:31:33teenager could could do a fake come on
0:31:35better than he did that mean it may be
0:31:37the point was his heart wasn't supposed
0:31:38to be in and he couldn't believe he was
0:31:39doing it and he's leaning in on her and
0:31:41she's getting good no didn't like that
0:31:43well maybe he's you know partly hoping
0:31:45that she's not into it but as a whole
0:31:46put the whole idea that he's trying to
0:31:48get her out of the car or tell him tell
0:31:50me where your house is and this is this
0:31:52is what I'm gonna do to make it but I
0:31:53mean he's he keeps a very clear distance
0:31:55away from her for you know for his own
0:31:57reasons and also because you know
0:31:58there's the possibility that maybe she's
0:32:00like oh I'm curious about this I'll give
0:32:02it a go so yeah it does make sense
0:32:04within that context it was certainly
0:32:06that the highlight of the arc i think
0:32:08was them like a shaven creaming the the
0:32:09neighboring car and let his hair out of
0:32:11the tires i'm running around that was
0:32:12nicely shot and that was i concurred
0:32:14that was fun although that is one heck
0:32:16of a big can of shaving cream get a lot
0:32:18of mileage out of that do you know it
0:32:19goes a long way because that one's been
0:32:20used already she still has it with her
0:32:22from the previous car shaving cream
0:32:24incident in Eisenhower's America men
0:32:26wanted big fans of shaving cream jam and
0:32:28she covers that entire damn car with
0:32:30that one can that's already been used
0:32:32once it's crazy so they will go quickly
0:32:35through the Ron Howard Steve plotline
0:32:38because we've already really hit the
0:32:40highlights in a way kind of the most
0:32:43poignant cuz he is he thinks one thing
0:32:46and no he learns and one another you are
0:32:50you you think you were X but you were
0:32:52actually why yes so the movie begins
0:32:55with him telling Cindy Williams will see
0:32:57other people Cindy Williamson okay after
0:33:01being initially put off by it Ron Howard
0:33:04going look what no usually supposed to
0:33:07react like that you were supposed to
0:33:08collapse weeping and accept it and yes
0:33:11yeah and and move on and they they have
0:33:15a fight they get separated
0:33:17uh he during all this process realizes
0:33:22that maybe he's not so eager to get out
0:33:24of this this one-horse town as much as
0:33:27he thought he would and it all coalesces
0:33:30into the plot where again all four
0:33:32characters sort of come together which
0:33:33will we'll get to in a moment the the
0:33:36scene that I really like in the the Ron
0:33:38Howard story is is at the sock hop when
0:33:40they're doing the the hunt the
0:33:43unfortunately named snowball dance um
0:33:45and actually the best performance there
0:33:48is Cindy Williams because she um you
0:33:50just see her go from just fury to
0:33:53sadness in in about the time it takes
0:33:57Paul am at to to drive down the streets
0:34:00of Petaluma it's just a really a really
0:34:04great scene that conveys a lot of
0:34:08emotion and a lot of depth and and and
0:34:10for that I kind of uh like that bit of
0:34:13the plot line though the Ron Howard
0:34:15character really doesn't press a lot of
0:34:18buttons for me unfortunately no I mean
0:34:20either and I knew kids like him oh sure
0:34:22he's there I mean he's there doing I
0:34:25think what the what this requires which
0:34:27is he's the wide-eyed you know he's call
0:34:30it gonna be the college boy and all of
0:34:31that I don't know I mean that also the
0:34:34this is the end of summer but there's a
0:34:36sock hop so I guess that maybe the high
0:34:38schools already started and so that
0:34:40they've got an event at the at the gym
0:34:42yeah it's like it's like the orientation
0:34:44and it's hard to say not to see that as
0:34:47a kind of a weed a scene with a lot of
0:34:50yet with an American Bandstand kind of
0:34:54dancing and things like that and so it's
0:34:57it's it's in there that's by the way
0:34:59speaking of locations that's the that's
0:35:01the gym at the high school my daughter
0:35:02goes to 0 I thought I saw that Khris was
0:35:05like oh that's reducing so yeah and
0:35:07kathleen quinlan who is in this as
0:35:09credit as Kathy because everybody hadn't
0:35:11got their stage names front right yet
0:35:13she did she's peg in this and she's so
0:35:16she's City Williams friend um oh she's
0:35:19great and and she was she had just
0:35:21graduated from that high school when she
0:35:23was in this movie with the scene set
0:35:25that she's in at the high school gym
0:35:27it's just what a weird experience to
0:35:29graduate from high school and
0:35:31and then being a feature film in your
0:35:33gym it's totally crazy she is such a
0:35:35wonderful silver of discord oh yeah yeah
0:35:40Skyrim scenes are all good in this movie
0:35:41when their kids were talking to each
0:35:43other in the bathrooms even like the
0:35:44boys making fun of the the zip makeup
0:35:47and then showing it Cherry Bomb you're
0:35:50right man through the one in there cuz
0:35:52this the thing that happens and the
0:35:52girls saying you know that you forget it
0:35:54this guy's leaving you gotta forget
0:35:56about them what do you have to see him
0:35:57forever like just the snare rank talk
0:35:59among once the de genders are separated
0:36:01in in their bathroom environments all
0:36:02while looking in the mirrors that was
0:36:03all good yep know if you go to the
0:36:06bathroom as a girl in high school you
0:36:07you develop like five best friends as
0:36:09you talk over the sink truth sir
0:36:12exchanged insights are plumbed it's it's
0:36:15it's beautiful come to think of it and
0:36:17that's one of the few see well that's
0:36:18actually my biggest complaint about
0:36:20american graffiti is is perhaps that is
0:36:24really and again it's a product of the
0:36:26filmmaker because george lucas has never
0:36:28been known to be particularly and and
0:36:30empathetic towards lots of different
0:36:33points of view but it's a story in which
0:36:35the women aren't really people most of
0:36:37the time yeah and right but tivity to be
0:36:40fair the men aren't always people still
0:36:44you have but still you have for you have
0:36:46four characters whose stories are
0:36:47treated as important true and in every
0:36:50one of those stories a woman can nudge
0:36:51the action along or she can be the
0:36:53reward at the end of the action or what
0:36:55have you but the scene where the women
0:36:57are talking in the bathroom is literally
0:36:59the only time in the movie where like
0:37:01they're acknowledged as human beings
0:37:02that are actually the stars of their own
0:37:05stories and have their own motivations
0:37:06and aspirations separate of how they
0:37:09interact with these these turkeys and
0:37:10chinos yeah and and so that's one of the
0:37:12reasons i like it so much is because it
0:37:14actually treats the women as people and
0:37:16that doesn't happen in a whole lot of
0:37:18the other seems i do like that Cindy
0:37:20Williams right because in the script it
0:37:23Ron Howard basically says how we're
0:37:24gonna see other people right and she's
0:37:26like um right I mean I like that I like
0:37:28that she is acting of her own
0:37:30self-interest and her own best interest
0:37:32through this movie because I feel like
0:37:33you know she could have been written
0:37:35another way where she was like oh sure
0:37:37whatever you say Steve I didn't I felt
0:37:40like that scene she was she it seemed
0:37:42like she was had been so conditioned her
0:37:43entire life
0:37:44be agreeable the one presented with
0:37:46something that was disagreeable it's
0:37:48almost like she couldn't physically
0:37:50disagree in the moment but merely had to
0:37:53go all right I guess this is the thing
0:37:55we're doing I must remain agreeable and
0:37:57only later as the movie progresses like
0:37:59wait a second that yes yeah culminating
0:38:01in the scene where they're dancing and
0:38:02she's pissed off of them and the
0:38:03spotlight is on them oh this is like it
0:38:06like it took her like three scenes to
0:38:07figure out like wait wait a second what
0:38:09do you even you know and then she's like
0:38:11really had it by the time she's in the
0:38:12car with Harrison Ford obviously mm-hmm
0:38:14I also feel like again part of the the
0:38:16way Steve is written is he's obviously
0:38:17he's obviously been the town's golden
0:38:21boy like you know adults like him and he
0:38:23was probably God's person Senor soup
0:38:25relatives and teachers went easy on him
0:38:27and there was always this presumption
0:38:29that Steve deserved to succeed and when
0:38:32you are the girlfriend of the Golden Boy
0:38:34you are from like you that's one of the
0:38:36trade-offs you make as well you know of
0:38:38course why wouldn't you go along with
0:38:40him he's obviously right he's set up and
0:38:41then she realizes it no actually he's a
0:38:44turkey I hate it when Richie and Shirley
0:38:47fight though it isn't sad yeah I don't
0:38:49know how he got his on TV I mean I you
0:38:51know the chronology is backwards but
0:38:52like he does not have a lot of charisma
0:38:54in this movie I feel like of all the
0:38:55people in this may I think Richard
0:38:56Dreyfuss has more charisma than run time
0:38:58in this movie well and not to not to
0:39:01delve into happy days um uh huh
0:39:04backstory but really it was kind of
0:39:07conceived that Anson Williams would be
0:39:10as like a co-lead in that series along
0:39:14with Richie Cunningham and then everyone
0:39:16gravitated towards Fonzarelli yeah which
0:39:19it who is I would say when I saw John
0:39:21the first time in this I always like oh
0:39:24he's a he's he's he's the Fonzie right
0:39:26here than Fonzie like I i I'd also heard
0:39:31the connection between the show and
0:39:32happy days and I watched happy days you
0:39:33know my whole childhood and this movie
0:39:36could not be farther than happy days in
0:39:38every at like the setting is the same
0:39:39but in terms of tone and Carol shortened
0:39:41and treatment it's like nothing from
0:39:44this movie made it into a b days except
0:39:45for the outfits yeah although Richie is
0:39:47Jimmy's boring as Steve and that's what
0:39:49I was going to say is that Ron Howard's
0:39:50not that interesting and happy days too
0:39:52that's why Swansea became the star but
0:39:54but he works as a straight man for
0:39:56Fonzie to be like it's because it's a
0:39:57stupid comedy thing it's got to be like
0:40:00you know he's he's your boring
0:40:01protagonist who things happen to and
0:40:03gets advised by the Alpha characters it
0:40:05works in a sitcom thing problem with
0:40:07Steve and Kurt both for me is there
0:40:10clearly the two that we're supposed to
0:40:11be relating the most to because health
0:40:14John and Terry are they're both
0:40:15caricature there on the outliers there's
0:40:17getting around that and they're
0:40:18interesting because of that because
0:40:20because he does play a little with the
0:40:22expectations on John and Terry's is kind
0:40:24of funny but I think Lucas does a lot of
0:40:28assuming here that we're just going to
0:40:30see the inherent interestingness in
0:40:32Steven Kurt because he does because
0:40:34they're sort of him yes but there's just
0:40:36nothing there so unless you're George
0:40:39Lucas or somebody who grew up exactly
0:40:41like George Lucas or one of these two
0:40:42clowns that were supposed to relate to
0:40:43you just can't well I like so I mean I
0:40:46was going to bring up that because we
0:40:47probably should talk about Richard
0:40:49Dreyfuss is Kurt in his story I think I
0:40:52think what's interesting about that from
0:40:54my perspective is he seems he's he's
0:40:57this kind of wishy-washy guy right the
0:40:59first time we see him he's like I'm
0:41:00probably not going to go i don't know
0:41:01and all that but so so he served meant
0:41:03to be frustrating and infuriating and
0:41:05then he has a wacky like a series of
0:41:09wacky adventures like the wacky
0:41:12adventure plot I saved him from last
0:41:15because the of all the plot lines it's
0:41:18the it felt the most contrived to me
0:41:21where he falls in with the local gang of
0:41:23toughs yeah feroz i gotta say i love
0:41:28parts of the pharaohs and and Kurt plot
0:41:32and I think it actually goes well with
0:41:34with the with the toad plot too because
0:41:37these are the a sequence of unlikely
0:41:39events that keep happening and you it's
0:41:41a long boy I it was a long night you
0:41:44know it's one of those kind of stories
0:41:45where this happened and this happened
0:41:46and I kind of like movies like this this
0:41:49is one of the reasons I like after hours
0:41:50with Griffin Dunne it's similarly like a
0:41:53series of ridiculous event someone has
0:41:55to like that movie it is well I I you
0:41:57know back when with Griffin Dunne was a
0:41:58movie star for the 90 minute runtime of
0:42:00that movie and then that was again um I
0:42:02think there is a genre of you know what
0:42:05happens
0:42:06at 4am I'm crazy night man exactly right
0:42:10well that's and that's what happens here
0:42:11and and i think i think the moment that
0:42:14that it turned the corner for me is
0:42:16there's that scene where they're they're
0:42:18gonna go in and rob the restaurant
0:42:22that's got the the the pinball machines
0:42:25yeah yeah this whole place is for fun
0:42:27and and they and and they know him they
0:42:31know Kurt he's the golden boy he's there
0:42:33the guy dr. scholarship yeah yeah fine
0:42:37mousse someday and I think I think
0:42:40that's funny because it's like what's
0:42:42gonna happen now and he and he you know
0:42:44he talks to them while the other guys
0:42:46steal the money from the pinball machine
0:42:47and then they go and and then and then
0:42:50tie the chain to the car of a cop and
0:42:52tear the cop car part in the any
0:42:54big-budget action sequence of the film
0:42:57which is one of them yes and what one of
0:43:00one of the three anyway there are others
0:43:03i like i like the welders there's a car
0:43:06race as a car race at the end there's
0:43:08the slap fight and that's about it we
0:43:12haven't mentioned the the the the most
0:43:14compelling part of the Richard Dreyfuss
0:43:17storyline which is he sees Suzanne
0:43:19Somers yelling and is just and and she
0:43:23mouths I love you Adam and he is smitten
0:43:25and needs to find out who and his night
0:43:29is basically I need to find out who this
0:43:31girl is because the game is cruising for
0:43:33women and the ultimate winning of the
0:43:35game is cruising for the special woman
0:43:37who will cure everything the magic
0:43:38blonde well I used compelling there were
0:43:42air quotes I'm sorry those didn't okay
0:43:44good good over the transom but I thought
0:43:47I was gonna have to know life is called
0:43:48the movie seemed mostly in on that like
0:43:50that it was saying look look at this guy
0:43:52he's in such dire straits that yes for
0:43:54anything to hang on to and he sees the
0:43:55imaginary woman Chevy Chase ferrari
0:43:57Christie Brinkley style and this like
0:43:59this is his lifeline and we we are
0:44:01laughing at him and realizing this is
0:44:03not going to save him but by the end of
0:44:05the movie he's looking longingly at the
0:44:07plane window at a white car and I hope
0:44:08he's realizing that that was not the
0:44:11wait but it's almost as if like I know
0:44:13you're still out there pretty brown lady
0:44:15I'm flying wet I don't I don't
0:44:18understand it the movie was
0:44:19the same page as me about the but the
0:44:21futility of tying your hopes to nabbing
0:44:25the just the right prey animal in
0:44:27cruising as a solution to your life's
0:44:28problems I was gonna say I think she's
0:44:30imaginary oh yeah absolutely is Christie
0:44:33Brinkley was real though right and I
0:44:36guess yes yes Griswold works in the land
0:44:38of reality um I think when he's my I
0:44:41think when he's flying away and he sees
0:44:43her driving down the road that's one of
0:44:46those moments where he realizes that ok
0:44:48did the the town that I thought I grew
0:44:50up and in the life that I thought I had
0:44:52there that's not entirely real either
0:44:54and that woman that fantasy of who she
0:44:56has belongs to his fantasy of who he was
0:44:58in that town and and I think that's what
0:45:01that's supposed to symbolize is you know
0:45:03it's it's basically like one it's
0:45:06basically two steps before a bunch of
0:45:07jet goes Jedi watching Darth Darth
0:45:09Vader's helmet burn with the evil ha no
0:45:11no Lisa you you were telling me
0:45:13originally they were gonna do like a
0:45:14thing in the opening where Chris at
0:45:16Suzanne Somers like appears and so on
0:45:20and and transparent so the idea is that
0:45:22you see that she's always a phantom and
0:45:23a hallucination realm dog that would
0:45:25have been terrible than having to rather
0:45:28than having today I I feel like it's
0:45:30obvious from the movie both because
0:45:32everybody has like a myth about her
0:45:34she's a kept woman she's a prostitute
0:45:36yeah I like my different stories about
0:45:38her because it says like a small town
0:45:39like oh I know you're talking about no
0:45:41no she's she's the wife of this old
0:45:42person oh she's a prostitute she's like
0:45:44everyone knows who he's talking about
0:45:46even though it's not yeah well they all
0:45:47have this same fantasy yeah and then
0:45:50there's the phone call that happens
0:45:51where it's just incredibly vague and
0:45:53what's really notable about that phone
0:45:54call is she doesn't say a word about
0:45:56herself she doesn't mention her name she
0:45:58doesn't say anything it's all she's
0:46:00basically a mirror reflecting his desire
0:46:02back at him and I think he finally gets
0:46:05that or he's like okay hey this is this
0:46:08is clearly not going to work because
0:46:09you're just echoing you failed the
0:46:11Turing test some great so you're gonna
0:46:14said since the phone woke him from sleep
0:46:15he never actually woke up oh yes that
0:46:19seems pretty clearly telegraphed at
0:46:21least to me what I do like about his
0:46:23quest and she is I think meant to be an
0:46:25impossible dream and write what I do
0:46:28like about his quest honestly the thing
0:46:30I like about it the most is it leads him
0:46:32out
0:46:32to the radio station and go and and the
0:46:36radio station so on the outskirts of
0:46:38town and I've been I've been in that
0:46:41radio station basically like I know
0:46:43that's what it is in the valley like you
0:46:45just go out of stretch of road and
0:46:46there's a transmitter and there's and
0:46:48and wolfman jack is there and wolfman
0:46:50jack this this movie spend a huge
0:46:54percentage of its budget on music like
0:46:56$80,000 of the budget is music there's
0:46:59no score wisely the score is classic
0:47:02hits from the 50s and early 60s it sits
0:47:05right up to 62 where it's set and
0:47:08wolfman jack is the DJ and then he
0:47:11appears at the end of the movie when
0:47:12Richard Dreyfuss goes and talks to him
0:47:14and he makes the request to out to the
0:47:17blonde in the t-bird and what I wanted
0:47:20to say is I love the I love the
0:47:22soundtrack I love the way it's it's done
0:47:25where it's mostly ambient it's just like
0:47:28the music is playing and then
0:47:29everybody's tuned to the same radio and
0:47:31and it is there is nothing more
0:47:34evocative of a hot summer night then
0:47:37everybody driving around with their
0:47:38windows rolled down and the radio coming
0:47:41and especially if everybody's listening
0:47:42to the same radio station and it's just
0:47:44everywhere and then you add that it's
0:47:46the period music to set that tone it's
0:47:49brilliant it's my favorite thing about
0:47:50this movie is and every so often the
0:47:52lyrics match up to what's going on
0:47:54on-screen yes I was about to say quite a
0:47:56lot of the time it does because that
0:47:58there's a lot of really good musical
0:48:02jokes at toad's except the music is
0:48:05mixed kind of like a Scorsese movie
0:48:06though where it's like it's not afraid
0:48:08to put the music out front sort of in
0:48:10the mix where the music is actually more
0:48:12dominant than the dialogue where it just
0:48:14overwhelmed because that is that it is
0:48:15the point of the scene it's like
0:48:16basically a music video and also there
0:48:18are some lines of dialogue and disperse
0:48:19with it so again getting what you're
0:48:21saying Jason were like the music
0:48:24permeates and pervades everything to the
0:48:26point where the conversation you're
0:48:27having with the car realistically is
0:48:28very often difficult to hear over the
0:48:30sound of the music and all the other
0:48:31things that are going on and I
0:48:32definitely got that feel I mean I don't
0:48:35know when one was mean streets was mean
0:48:36streets before this this was a 73 at the
0:48:40same time actually yeah but anyway
0:48:42square sees would do it even more later
0:48:44of like I literally putting the
0:48:46loud you know pop music soundtrack out
0:48:49in front of everything else including a
0:48:51dialogue which definitely changes the
0:48:53feel of the movie and I mean and and it
0:48:56gives gives a feel for place in time in
0:48:58a way that even just like the outfits in
0:49:00the cars doesn't that's right i had to
0:49:02look up the beach boys track because i
0:49:03like surely that wasn't in 1962 and I
0:49:05was like yeah it absolutely was it was
0:49:07the song of the summer that year George
0:49:09Lucas knew I mean they this was a this
0:49:11was and this was the trade-off right
0:49:12we're not going to have a score but wit
0:49:14but that the radio hits are going to be
0:49:16the score and it works so well it is so
0:49:20good yeah I'm ambivalent about most of
0:49:22the the Richard Dreyfuss storyline but I
0:49:25do love that scene with Wolfman Jack
0:49:26because that that is the it's all a
0:49:29facade kid yeah it's all have a popsicle
0:49:32chemical not know what wolfman jack
0:49:34looked like back then cuz I know what he
0:49:36looks like when I was a kid you saw the
0:49:37Hollywood Squares he had the Saturday
0:49:39morning cartoon yeah after American
0:49:41Graffiti he became you know he was big
0:49:44but you know in this scenario where he
0:49:47has two Scooby squad saw did you guys
0:49:49follow DJ's was that only something cuz
0:49:52my girlfriends and I used to have
0:49:53favorite djs because you know again when
0:49:55you're a teenager music is the the pulse
0:49:58of every social interaction and my
0:50:01girlfriends and I could name all of the
0:50:03different djs in all the different
0:50:04stations and you know we didn't know
0:50:08what they look like though we just knew
0:50:09them by their voices we could even
0:50:10rattle off whatever details they had or
0:50:12whatever quirks and this was still back
0:50:14when you could call the DJ and you have
0:50:16a reasonable expectation of having to
0:50:17pick up the phone and talk to you yeah
0:50:19and so I think for these teenagers they
0:50:22probably had this idea that Wolfman Jack
0:50:23was one thing and then Kurt sees that
0:50:25he's actually just died in a Hawaiian
0:50:27shirt the guy an obstacle sure has to
0:50:30talk to teenagers all night while eating
0:50:32melting popsicles and he realizes that
0:50:34oh my god oh my god this is my life has
0:50:38been built on a lie my life isn't built
0:50:40on a lie I'm gonna get on that plane god
0:50:43damn it oh yeah because I tell you the
0:50:45first time I saw a DJ and personal like
0:50:47this guy sounds so much cooler when I
0:50:48don't know what he looks like yeah yeah
0:50:51the wolfman was a bit of an institution
0:50:52it interestingly he does mention at one
0:50:55point he calls out the address of a
0:50:57little stall on
0:51:00Street in Chula Vista California which
0:51:02is where he actually broadcast from not
0:51:04somewhere outside of Modesto yes I
0:51:06thought it was interesting that they
0:51:07left that in my understanding is
0:51:08actually that the that a lot of his
0:51:11interactions and including all the phone
0:51:14calls were from the off air tapes of
0:51:17Wolfman Jack shows those were real not
0:51:20although there's apparently one where he
0:51:22where George Lucas and Joe well of
0:51:25course not is the guy in the pizza place
0:51:27ooh I don't know what you're talking
0:51:29about yeah so whatever happened to
0:51:32George Lucas yeah I don't know they went
0:51:35on to make little art films there's a
0:51:37fair amount of the of the later Lucas
0:51:39floating around in this primordial stew
0:51:41here like there's a there's a line very
0:51:43early on where John is talking to Steve
0:51:45and and Lori about going to the hop and
0:51:48he says you two just got out your ass
0:51:51out of there even then Lucas couldn't be
0:51:54bothered with the second take it's not
0:51:56obviously a shank line could very easily
0:51:58have been redone it's like now that
0:52:00seems pretty good let's go with that yep
0:52:02i will say in Lucas's defense again as
0:52:07it was with Terry crashing his his
0:52:10scooter that a lot of it was if this is
0:52:14going to look like an authentic teen
0:52:15movie let's have them be stumbly and and
0:52:19bad with the dialogue and and and and
0:52:23choke on their lines so that it it
0:52:24sounds like actual 17 and 18 year olds
0:52:27talking his one good idea in this movie
0:52:30that he shot a chronological wasn't oh
0:52:32yeah his claim to fame directorial ii
0:52:34speaking he had one good idea once in
0:52:36his life and was used to good effect so
0:52:38it might be end of the movie everybody
0:52:39looked tired because they were tired we
0:52:42should talk about the the ending of the
0:52:44movie just because we've we've kind of
0:52:45danced around it and also we've been had
0:52:47a like an hour time to move on after we
0:52:49talked about the ending where they all
0:52:50come back together is all night long a
0:52:53young racer has been looking for the
0:52:56Paula Matt character it's played by
0:52:58Harrison Ford who refused to cut his
0:53:00hair for the movie which is why he wears
0:53:02that ridiculous cowboy yeah I like that
0:53:04cowboy hat the reason i like is it shows
0:53:06this is a guy who's hanging on to what
0:53:08his conception of cool was back when he
0:53:09was a teenager so he's Bob falfa
0:53:12it's also telling that an almost named
0:53:14every every scene he appears and he has
0:53:17a different girl in the car because he's
0:53:19just unpleasant to be her Oh Bob's alpha
0:53:22mm-hmm and so he and John Milner finally
0:53:27have their big race in Road in petaluma
0:53:29that I've drove driven down many times
0:53:31and uh Cindy Williams is sitting in the
0:53:36car with Bob falfa because she's trying
0:53:38to get back at at poor Ronnie Howard
0:53:40toad gets to start the race which is you
0:53:44know the highlight of toads life up
0:53:46until the point that he got to hang out
0:53:49with candy clark for the evening there's
0:53:52a race Bob thatha's clearly beating John
0:53:56Milner and then Bob falfa spins out has
0:53:59a crash that's when if Steve hadn't
0:54:02decided that he was staying in modesto
0:54:04that's when he realizes that he is and
0:54:07Paula Matt realizes oh god I'm not a kid
0:54:11anymore I'm I'm mortal and no way John
0:54:15you're the best ever over the okay toad
0:54:19will take them all eventually agrees
0:54:21it's like you know what you're right i
0:54:22will be the best forever the very next
0:54:24scene is just Richard Dreyfuss getting
0:54:26on that plane flying off to his big
0:54:28fancy college back east Ronnie Howard
0:54:31seen behind saying hey I'll be there in
0:54:33a year no you won't know and you you
0:54:36failed the small town test but here this
0:54:38small town test you have an F yeah I
0:54:41feel like when they do the little
0:54:42capsule descriptions at the end and it
0:54:43turns out that toad is dead and uh John
0:54:47is dead that as far as Lucas is
0:54:49concerned steve is also as good as dead
0:54:51because he stayed in modesto ain't got
0:54:53the granite us so he's also dead so
0:54:54everyone's dead he's a writer he's ok
0:55:00he's a writer yeah yeah he's a writer
0:55:01the ultimate the ultimate life victory
0:55:03you know he made I'm wondering if the
0:55:04whole point to him being in Canada's
0:55:06he's a draft dodger that's what my yeah
0:55:07exactly that's not your instil because
0:55:10I'm like oh cannon on my dad like know
0:55:11that he dodged the draft like oh yeah
0:55:13thank you know I'm better and I had not
0:55:15considered that yeah he could have saved
0:55:16his friend toad but nope he was writing
0:55:19yes last time I saw this movie was many
0:55:22years ago
0:55:23when I'm watching it again like I
0:55:25remembered most of the movie in broad
0:55:27strokes but when they're doing the car
0:55:28race scene for a moment I said I'll wait
0:55:30a second is this where Cindy William
0:55:32dies like I meant the whole thing of
0:55:34like oh you got to be careful she does
0:55:36she doesn't want to be in the car you
0:55:37got to get out of the car you know like
0:55:40I knew the car was gonna crash because I
0:55:41remember that I know he's gonna win the
0:55:42race because of a congress like did they
0:55:44kill her is that is at the end like if
0:55:46this movie was a little bit deeper into
0:55:47the 70s and was directed by someone
0:55:48other than George Lucas she would have
0:55:50died in that thing like that would have
0:55:51been really close if it would have been
0:55:54Martin Scorsese she would have been
0:55:56wearing a red dress like it's time her
0:56:00you know that their relationship they
0:56:01couldn't get it together and like you
0:56:03want to seize other people and they're
0:56:05just going in different directions and
0:56:06she just was goes into a car with a
0:56:07stranger and it's a bad choice and she
0:56:10wants out but then she wants to get back
0:56:11at him and she's in the car just you
0:56:13know you get what are you doing in that
0:56:14car sir john tells her to get out the
0:56:15car she says just be quiet and then she
0:56:18dies in a car wreck i met honestly that
0:56:19wreck with like no seat belts in that
0:56:20high of a car they're not walking away
0:56:22from that instead she gets up and she's
0:56:24so spunky she's hitting Ron Howard two
0:56:25seconds later so yeah I mean I'm glad
0:56:28she didn't but it would have been even
0:56:30more 70s movie and a very different
0:56:32movie if she had died in that car
0:56:34because that really would have taught
0:56:35Steve you know like you've made some bad
0:56:37choices yeah this is pretty early 70s
0:56:40things didn't really get gritty and
0:56:41nasty for a few more years yeah this was
0:56:44one of the first movies to do that
0:56:45epilogue were at post and here's what
0:56:48happened to all those characters we
0:56:49haven't with two hours which animal
0:56:52house kind of took the piss out of five
0:56:54years late I love I love both as that
0:56:56belongs so much without senator
0:56:58blutarsky and wife and that's when you
0:57:00have to end the epilogue at the end of
0:57:02year the movie Vietnam is hanging over
0:57:04this movie so you kind of almost have to
0:57:06say because because this is the question
0:57:09you're watching a movie set 10 years in
0:57:11the past these are a bunch of high
0:57:12school kids Vietnam is happening what
0:57:15you know what's going to happen and so
0:57:17you kind of have to say yeah he went off
0:57:18and died in Vietnam and and and so I
0:57:22feel like it almost requires that you
0:57:25address that and so there it is you know
0:57:27he didn't make it back and you know this
0:57:29guy stayed in town sells insurance or
0:57:32whatever and then this guy went to
0:57:34Canada and as a writer and
0:57:35III yeah yeah I wanted to say before we
0:57:39move on that I did watch this movie
0:57:42thinking what would George Lucas have
0:57:46been as a filmmaker if he hadn't made
0:57:49Star Wars or if he had or if Star Wars
0:57:52had not succeeded because I feel like he
0:57:55might have had a very interesting and
0:57:58very different career trajectory based
0:58:00on this film because I think this is a
0:58:03really well made film it's got some
0:58:05issues but I think it's really well-made
0:58:06and evocative and given the budget and
0:58:08then you know and then he made Star Wars
0:58:10which is a huge hit and is a great movie
0:58:12but I do i do wonder cuz and that's the
0:58:14shame of it is that you know that guy
0:58:16never made another movie right after
0:58:18Star Wars he never he never got the
0:58:20chance to make another movie because by
0:58:21the time he was directing movies again
0:58:22it wasn't the same guy it wasn't the guy
0:58:24who made our American Graffiti it was
0:58:26the builder of an empire and it's a
0:58:28little bit it's a little bit of a shame
0:58:30i think because i would have been
0:58:31interested to see him take a more 70s
0:58:35cinema path instead of you know what
0:58:38ended up happening which was that he
0:58:40became star wars incorporated i would
0:58:42have liked to have seen the modesto
0:58:43trilogy yeah of your of your 70s
0:58:47directors your Martin Scorsese's your
0:58:49Francis Ford Coppola 'he's you can even
0:58:51include brian de palma in that group and
0:58:54Spielberg George Lucas's career path
0:58:58kind of became the least interesting
0:59:01right of those in that like you say it
0:59:03became George Lucas industry as words we
0:59:06got to move some Kenner action figures
0:59:08guys oh and he obviously made a decision
0:59:11to lean into the business side to not
0:59:13even direct the second and third films
0:59:15to do all of that he could have
0:59:17potentially made a different decision
0:59:20love with the visual effects too because
0:59:22it seems like a lot of his death was
0:59:23driven by it doesn't look like the
0:59:25pictures in my head and it became less
0:59:27about what is the story I'm telling him
0:59:29more about how is the story being
0:59:31presented visually it's like that dude
0:59:33in Boston who got so into the technology
0:59:36in the engineering that he dropped out
0:59:38of the band to just do recording
0:59:40technology fault you know you know you
0:59:43get some people who get sidetracked by
0:59:45by it doesn't match what's in my head
0:59:47and they
0:59:49they put there was a narrative thread
0:59:50because we can give George a lot of crap
0:59:52for what he did later in his career but
0:59:54yes you know this is a good movie and
0:59:55star wars is a really great movie and
0:59:57and then it was so
0:59:57and then it was so
1:00:00successful that we never saw this young
1:00:02filmmaker make up what would the next
1:00:04one have been we'll we'll never know
1:00:05arguably this is the movie where he was
1:00:07most moderated by the influence of
1:00:09others who were shoring up his
1:00:10weaknesses you know I mean yes you're
1:00:12like so like this this is this is a
1:00:14rookie type of thing every when he's
1:00:17left completely on his own you get THX
1:00:191138 or you know the prequels and in
1:00:22between their varying degrees of
1:00:23moderation and writing help and ability
1:00:26to say no to him that allowed the good
1:00:29things I mean that's that's arguably
1:00:30what what a Hollywood production machine
1:00:32is supposed to do it take talent and
1:00:34allowed their good aspects that come
1:00:35through in the places where they lack
1:00:37fill those gaps I agree this is a movie
1:00:39that's that's put together and very
1:00:40interestingly particularly as you
1:00:42already called out Jason the way the
1:00:43soundtrack works is very cool I also
1:00:46want to call out the scene where Kurt is
1:00:48cabling the police car and there's an
1:00:51approaching train which he uses kind of
1:00:54his building music it's almost like you
1:00:56know his heart beating as he got caught
1:00:58and the and as just as he's about to
1:01:01cable the car that the train skids to a
1:01:03halt and you hear that brake squeal and
1:01:05it goes very quiet and it's just a
1:01:07beautifully shot wonderfully tense scene
1:01:11in the middle of this otherwise almost
1:01:12tension free movie and it's very cool
1:01:15and I I do tend to give Lucas a lot of
1:01:17crap but that's that is a sign of where
1:01:21he had some definite genius this movie
1:01:23looks good too like no visual effects
1:01:24but you know that the change in quality
1:01:27of the light as the night progresses and
1:01:30comes morning works beautifully and is
1:01:32we've pretty well throughout the movie
1:01:34even though they're jumping around from
1:01:35location to location the night scenes
1:01:36with the streetlights and the cars and
1:01:39shiny chrome yeah the setting is perfect
1:01:41this setting is just straight-up perfect
1:01:43i will say that i had not seen this
1:01:45movie before although i'd seen bits and
1:01:48pieces of it many many times over the
1:01:50years is the first time i sat down and
1:01:51watched it end to end and while I i I'm
1:01:55glad I watched it and I enjoyed the
1:01:57experience this is a slow movie it's
1:02:02deliberately paced yes it is but it's
1:02:04it's you know it's I know this this is a
1:02:06fond remembrance of a bygone time right
1:02:08and it's it's it's lucas is a nostalgia
1:02:11trip and it's the nostalgia trip of
1:02:13everybody who
1:02:13grew up in that era and lived this but I
1:02:17didn't and so the fact that we have to
1:02:20linger on every moment of the sock hop
1:02:22or Kurt strolling endlessly down the
1:02:24halls of the high school and playing
1:02:26with the lockers and stuff it just gets
1:02:28it gets pretty tedious for me you didn't
1:02:31say yeah the overwhelming feeling of
1:02:32heartbreak keeping you attached to the
1:02:34movie like I didn't I think Lisa did to
1:02:36like just that just that the entire
1:02:38movie like I was surprised by my
1:02:40reaction too because I had seen it many
1:02:41many times in the past but not for many
1:02:43years and seeing it maybe I'm older and
1:02:44and more mushy now but like just just
1:02:48the heartbreak that pervades the movie
1:02:50because as an older person you know that
1:02:52this is all you know yeah tell me turn
1:02:54it I I think it's a mistake to dismiss
1:02:56this totally as a nostalgia thing that
1:02:58was a big thing in the 70s there was a
1:03:00big let's make movies about the 1950s
1:03:03and early 1960s like this and grease and
1:03:07animal house and but III think this one
1:03:10is better than those because that
1:03:13there's actually a timeless poignancy to
1:03:17it about what you lose as you get older
1:03:21that that um Lucas briefly tapped into
1:03:25um yeah well it briefly is the thing I
1:03:28for me that I appreciate no because the
1:03:30that's touched upon that's definitely
1:03:32there but it is couched in so much of
1:03:34the you know oh it's we gotta throw in a
1:03:36cherry bomb and does it make up and
1:03:37literally everything that happened in
1:03:39the early 60s has to be compressed into
1:03:41this one night and there's just so much
1:03:43of it it just completely dilutes the the
1:03:45poignancy of it for me and it's not
1:03:47helped by the fact that I find both uh
1:03:48Steven Curt stories totally uninspiring
1:03:52yeah they're the least compelling yes
1:03:54and I also not super pleased about the
1:03:56image in my head i have now of George
1:03:58Lucas rolling around in margarine which
1:04:00could've done without but you know it's
1:04:05it's this is a movie that I really
1:04:07enjoyed uh I have a great deal of
1:04:09respect for the way it's made the way
1:04:11it's filmed um and I don't think I ever
1:04:14need to wash it again right shall we
1:04:16move on to get on our bikes and right
1:04:18away yes cutter worse let's ride out of
1:04:23the 1970s and into the early 1980s but
1:04:26really
1:04:271979 it's breaking away time which is
1:04:31suddenly town of Bloomington Indiana
1:04:34home of the Indiana University yep and
1:04:37we are our four heroes are Dave Mike
1:04:41Cyril and moocher yes Yong Yong Beck
1:04:44Hanson and several other 19 year olds
1:04:47who uh basically are on their gap year
1:04:51after graduating high school and they
1:04:55are they are Tony's in a university town
1:04:59where the smart handsome rich people
1:05:01come to to learn and they are sort of
1:05:04just they are beginning to realize that
1:05:07they are likely going to be left behind
1:05:10by all that nevertheless our hero is
1:05:14Dave who is played by Dennis Christopher
1:05:17and he has developed a a very particular
1:05:22passion for bicycling um yeah especially
1:05:25especially with the Italian team to the
1:05:28point where he actually begins speaking
1:05:30in a comical Italian accent oh and
1:05:35shaving his legs and doing all sorts of
1:05:39things to upset his father who's played
1:05:42by the Magnificent oh so good Paul
1:05:46Dooley in this role I'm your goddamn
1:05:48father I'm not your super feet I'm not
1:05:51your pop I'm your guy don't have any in
1:05:53this house no yeah Tom oh really yes
1:05:56really is pretty much is the best thing
1:06:00in this movie for me was the opening
1:06:01moments when the title card comes up and
1:06:03it's like oh hey that guy's in this and
1:06:05that guy and that guy and end of the one
1:06:08guy I didn't know was of course the lead
1:06:10yes ya know they suck his other friends
1:06:13I should mention her plate by Dennis
1:06:14Quaid who looks like he was carved from
1:06:16Brock oh he's like a marble statue made
1:06:20animate it's amazing he would maintain
1:06:22that figure his whole life he was cut
1:06:25out of that quarry there who just made
1:06:27like a Greek god yep and then there's
1:06:29Daniel Stern who again less carved but
1:06:33still this is a reminder young actors
1:06:35make sure you're in movies where you
1:06:36take your shirt off a lot when you're
1:06:37young yeah you're gonna wish you had
1:06:40when you're
1:06:41because this movie has a lot i mean the
1:06:4370s in general had a lot of shirtless
1:06:45men and this movie is like even just
1:06:46even just in the sidelines in crowd
1:06:48scenes maybe you know one at every
1:06:51hundred men has no shirt it's just
1:06:53normal hey that's what this movies about
1:06:55right that's what his mom tells him to
1:06:57keep your shirt off when you're young
1:06:58and you can yep and some other words i
1:07:03think but yeah that was the gist sure so
1:07:04the other the other two friends are
1:07:06Daniel Stern who is the awkward
1:07:07apparently basketball-playing friend
1:07:10when really Daniel Stern plays an
1:07:12awkward loser yeah yeah no it's really
1:07:14odd and then there's Jackie Earle Haley
1:07:16who looks gross yeah as as mooch address
1:07:21freckles he looks like every kid in 1979
1:07:25yeah basically Kelly leak gone to seed
1:07:27from the bad news bears measure you can
1:07:30see a comment in that movie too mm-hmm
1:07:32so they are they are us they they they
1:07:35are literally Steve from American
1:07:38Graffiti stuck in the town but without
1:07:40prospects other than Dave kind of being
1:07:43into bicycling and um they get into some
1:07:47fussing and some feuding with some of
1:07:49the fraternity boys from from Indiana
1:07:51University Dave uh finds himself uh
1:07:55romancing a co-ed as it in his Italian
1:07:594700 coed who is apparently not very
1:08:03bright because no accent not being
1:08:06exactly Enrico Johnson Rico he's got a
1:08:09Vespa he's very Italian and the best pop
1:08:13on the fishing boat that is just cringey
1:08:15ya know every every scene where he that
1:08:19I have mixed feelings about that entire
1:08:22plot line where he deludes this this
1:08:24apparently dim young woman into
1:08:27believing that he's from some Italian
1:08:29fishing village because on the one hand
1:08:31there is a certain sweetness to it in
1:08:33their interactions and on the other hand
1:08:35it's really freaking creepy it's very
1:08:37sitcom and there's a lot of this movie
1:08:39that feels like it was pulled from
1:08:41television in in the 1970s and perhaps
1:08:45not ironically it would become a sitcom
1:08:47indeed after the success of this man I
1:08:49mean a lot of the humor feels like it's
1:08:51very very TV yeah there's
1:08:53scene where Daniel Stern gets his
1:08:55fingers stuck in the bowling ball that's
1:08:57above the level of TV come on that's
1:08:59quality entertainment no that's huge
1:09:02level humor this is an eighties movie
1:09:04like this is something movie made in 79
1:09:06but when he's swinging that bowling ball
1:09:08around and they're having a brawl in the
1:09:09bowling alley oop that's 80s movies jump
1:09:12I do like that he just he's got a
1:09:15bowling ball on his hand now all right
1:09:17and then they go college kids account
1:09:19the college boys are right out of 80
1:09:21central casting yeah yeah oh yeah think
1:09:23they went they went straight to revenge
1:09:25of the nerds after this mom justjust
1:09:26ruled off of one set and read on to
1:09:28another one the main body is played by
1:09:30heart bochner Ellis UC San Diego
1:09:33graduate who who you may remember
1:09:34negotiating with the Hans Gruber yeah
1:09:37naka Tony tower you could tell that's
1:09:40how he would end up in this movie indeed
1:09:42yes if they did the little American
1:09:45Graffiti right exactly the end of the
1:09:47movie he would be killed in knock to
1:09:49meet our speaking of 80s movies and and
1:09:53him there's that perfect scene at the
1:09:55end where where everything is worked out
1:09:58and Ellis can't help but smile and laugh
1:10:00now but you got it it's the end of an
1:10:02eighties movie you gotta be like Oh
1:10:03nerds all right I'll see you guys are
1:10:05okay those plucky cutters it and you can
1:10:08almost hear him thinking you're all
1:10:09right LaRussa that's really i want to
1:10:13mention by the way the the dad the line
1:10:16that i really like it was while we're
1:10:17talking with the it's this whole Italian
1:10:18plot the dead says at one point I don't
1:10:23want any e me in this house zucchini
1:10:25Fellini watch Gennie I asked my wife if
1:10:30she didn't know with what zucchini was
1:10:31because I found this an unbelievable
1:10:32aspect of the movie that there could be
1:10:34adults in the united states who didn't
1:10:36know what zucchini was and she assures
1:10:38me that it is at least plausible it's
1:10:40just squad 1979 it's blooming it is
1:10:43certainly plausible in Indiana yeah in
1:10:45in nicely explained it's like a squash
1:10:47you want some American food like french
1:10:49fries as the child of two indiana
1:10:51natives i can assure you this movie is
1:10:54painfully accurate and they do not know
1:10:56how to cook zucchini what do not know
1:10:58what it is though they wouldn't know how
1:11:00to cook it if you if Mario Batali showed
1:11:02up in their house let's tell them it's
1:11:04summer squash maybe they'll get it I
1:11:06don't know
1:11:07that's the rationalization I have for
1:11:08Katherine believing his Italian accent
1:11:11too wasn't she from the east coast
1:11:12though yeah that's a good point well I
1:11:13don't know if she is that she's in a
1:11:15waspy enclave of Connecticut and had
1:11:17never met an Italian before that's a
1:11:19good point also entirely possible anyway
1:11:21that's the work we get for an 80s movie
1:11:22contrivance you know like that's again
1:11:25the serenading the balcony fraternities
1:11:28and sororities college kids versus
1:11:30townies this moon was ahead of its time
1:11:31in many ways indeed yeah yeah and again
1:11:34it's one of those movies that kind of
1:11:35defies plot recaps the plot recap ER
1:11:38realized while watching it regretting
1:11:41his choices in life and suffice it to
1:11:45say there are lots of misadventures with
1:11:47the four friends where they'll fail in
1:11:49their own ways really they all fail in
1:11:51their own way Dennis Quaid tries to race
1:11:53against heart bochner at the at the
1:11:55stone quarry and and comes up comes up
1:11:58almost rounds finishes third in a
1:12:00two-man race um Daniel Stern gets beat
1:12:03up by the by the heart bochner games
1:12:07just a good Papa proud boys yeah we're
1:12:09the fred wahl attendees a serenade in
1:12:11character is Italian guy the the girl in
1:12:15the sorority house yeah I think I've
1:12:17mentioned that Jackie Earle Haley is
1:12:19short and gross yep it is maybe people
1:12:22remind of repeatedly hey shorty don't
1:12:24forget to punch the clock and which he
1:12:26literally does by punching the clock at
1:12:28the job that he said don't call me
1:12:30shorty they call him chicken hey kids
1:12:32can't help but react yeah that's exactly
1:12:33right but what eventually happens is
1:12:36that the president of Indiana University
1:12:39actually played by the president of
1:12:41Indiana University at the time really
1:12:43why's everyone together yeah yeah and
1:12:45says hey hey I can't have this fussin
1:12:48and feudin in my town so what's going to
1:12:51happen is that we're going to have a
1:12:54team of townies in the little 500 which
1:12:58is a a bike race that they actually have
1:13:00at Indiana University where Noah you
1:13:03right around 44 uh however many laps and
1:13:08you hurried off and the cutters are all
1:13:11this is great because we've got a guy
1:13:13who's really good at riding the bicycle
1:13:15Dave rides the whole race and we win
1:13:16yeah you know I'm willing to accept
1:13:18almost everything that happens
1:13:20movie but when the punishment for
1:13:22starting a fight in the student union is
1:13:24that they're going to let the Townies
1:13:26into a bicycle race Wow well it seems
1:13:30cooler that's when you have to have a
1:13:31car wash to stop the real estate
1:13:33developers from taking up a couple it's
1:13:35an 80s movies on Orthodox but I'll allow
1:13:37it what a coincidence it turns out that
1:13:39Ellis is a big cycling enthusiasts to
1:13:41what he's on the team he's a young man
1:13:43on campus he does every bicycles at dawn
1:13:45first thing I does not this but they're
1:13:47not good enough yeah that's a great line
1:13:49they're totally encapsulates the whole
1:13:50sir they're not good enough and I should
1:13:53be in a movie what am i doing in this
1:13:55movie I'm a villain I'm snooty so the
1:13:59the the race as you mentioned the the
1:14:03little 500 that is the climax of the
1:14:05movie uh what one of the things that I
1:14:08noticed at the end that I thought was
1:14:09kind of charming is that it is mostly
1:14:13just wide shots of bicycles racing yeah
1:14:16one continuous cut for the last lap and
1:14:19a half it's like God just let's all
1:14:20watch the race together they're not like
1:14:22it there's no cameras on the bike a
1:14:24modern movie would have liked the
1:14:25close-ups of like various teams doing
1:14:27various things and it's like no you get
1:14:29you get occasional moments of detail but
1:14:31it's not really about the race and then
1:14:32you just go back to the shot of like
1:14:34here's everybody racing I will say
1:14:36though that's counter pointed with the
1:14:38announcer who we hear in the background
1:14:39explaining what's going on he is
1:14:41strangely specific as if he is actually
1:14:44just the narrator of the film it's
1:14:46that's the part that struck me is that
1:14:48the move the video is like the pictures
1:14:51are very generic and like let's watch
1:14:52this together but then the announcer is
1:14:54over compensating and literally
1:14:56narrating the movie for us when it's
1:14:57shock and surprise you to know that the
1:14:59announcer is the guy whom this is all
1:15:00based on nothing would surprise me about
1:15:02this movie at this yeah well it is it's
1:15:04it's it's the guy that is the dude so I
1:15:08thought that worked pretty well because
1:15:09they have the crowd noise up over the
1:15:11announcer so you can barely hear the
1:15:13announcer because like if you were there
1:15:14you'd mostly just hear the hair out
1:15:15screaming and I think that that scene at
1:15:16the end where they follow them they
1:15:18follow just the promo distant shot up in
1:15:20the stands of the bikes going around the
1:15:21track once and then twice for that you
1:15:23know the white flag and then the
1:15:24checkered flag it there's no cutaways
1:15:25yet scrotum and all you hear is the
1:15:27crowd and you can barely hear the
1:15:29announcer kind of saying his announcing
1:15:31thing and his boar
1:15:32announcer voice but you're not really
1:15:34paying attention in the crowd is
1:15:35screaming that's that's a plus it's
1:15:37really your sports excitement that's the
1:15:39point at which i thought to myself
1:15:40you've done the impossible movie you've
1:15:43made me give a crap about the results of
1:15:45a bicycle arias well wouldn't with no
1:15:48stakes it's not like if you win this
1:15:49race you get a scholarship or something
1:15:51no no it's just the soul of the cutters
1:15:53that's at stake John come on yeah I know
1:15:55but you know I mean what happens if i
1:15:57win the race well you-you-you you've won
1:15:59the race and you get a nice trophy yeah
1:16:01congratulations and what if I lose well
1:16:04you get to continue living in the town
1:16:06is if you didn't participate you know
1:16:08the race is it's a testy the whole idea
1:16:11here is that the the dave is gonna is
1:16:14gonna rub the whole race for them which
1:16:15I I do wonder like well he's that that
1:16:18good that he can run all the laps and
1:16:19everybody else can have four different
1:16:21guys and let's keep it up at the chins
1:16:23on it is pretty well established by the
1:16:25rest of the movie that he is actually
1:16:26yeah well established in the movie that
1:16:28he is a very good cyclist the only time
1:16:30that he fails is when he's racing
1:16:33against a professional Italian team
1:16:35Amanda and they're jerks Rodney's and
1:16:38they'd has so many Italians do John they
1:16:41they cheat him after flipping him off
1:16:47they do him dirty up and salt him and
1:16:50then then yeah they stick something in
1:16:53his folks so it's like one of the
1:16:54greatest father-son scenes in that movie
1:16:56though when young when he breaks down
1:16:58and begins to weep oh yes he says daddy
1:17:02and you see Paul Dooley look panicked
1:17:04for a moment before finally hugging his
1:17:06son yep he's awkwardly trying to figure
1:17:08out what happens he looks down at his
1:17:09wife and sees that she's got tears in
1:17:11his eyes he's like well what are you
1:17:12doing what's happening I've lost legal
1:17:16orders her to do something this huh so
1:17:19to go back to the race for a second my
1:17:21point though is that is that since dave
1:17:23is the star of the of the group in terms
1:17:25of being the start of the movie but also
1:17:27the start by Sickler what we get is just
1:17:29enough drama to show the state of mind
1:17:32of the other characters so he gets hurt
1:17:35and they have to replace him and so we
1:17:39get uh you know dennis quaid doesn't
1:17:42want to do it but daniel stern game
1:17:45meffert in Jackie Earle Haley doesn't
1:17:47game effort and then finally Dennis
1:17:49Quaid sort of like he has his moment
1:17:51where he kind of turns around and says
1:17:52I'm going to do this and then of course
1:17:54Dave is able to re-enter the guy the guy
1:17:56goes by from the frat and says nice try
1:17:58kid and that pisses him off Yeah right
1:18:00it's on the bike and takes so they get
1:18:01just enough participation in the race
1:18:03for their character moments and then
1:18:05dave gets back on the bike and wins the
1:18:06race and that's yes perfect they each
1:18:08get their little chance at at victory
1:18:10little chance at redemption I was
1:18:12fantastic and it works out like it is
1:18:15fairly you know for for a movie of this
1:18:17kind realistic about mike is fit like
1:18:19he's not a bicycle rider but he only has
1:18:21to do one or two fast light and he's
1:18:22pissed off and so he you know he does
1:18:24keep them in it like the constant
1:18:26announcing of their position and the
1:18:27trades and everything make you believe
1:18:29that they they wouldn't have been
1:18:31completely out of contention yes yeah
1:18:33you right in a sense that Daniel Stern
1:18:35probably would be a train wreck on the
1:18:36bike and it turns out that he is but
1:18:38he's just good enough to keep in the
1:18:40pack somewhere in the head and Jackie
1:18:42Earle Haley fall asleep okay can't
1:18:45really possible lead oh it's hysterical
1:18:47when he's on the bike to and he can
1:18:48barely reach the pedals his little legs
1:18:50can't keep up but he gives a game effort
1:18:52every one of them puts in their little
1:18:55there a little bit and they get their
1:18:56little a little victory so so to
1:18:58characterize this movie because we
1:19:00always talked about it as an age movie
1:19:01this is not really but when I think of
1:19:03this movie I think about but watching it
1:19:04again for the umpteenth time occurred to
1:19:06me that this is a movie in the grand
1:19:09tradition of 80s movies they glorified a
1:19:11single sport there's movies about BMX
1:19:14riding movies about you know swimming
1:19:17diving churning like you just ricotta
1:19:20jacana whatever you just pick us pick a
1:19:24sport in the 80s you can make an entire
1:19:26movie and the point of that movie was
1:19:27like it's a soccer movie it's a football
1:19:29movie and the whole point of the movie
1:19:31was glorifying sport that's not the
1:19:32whole point of this move but this movie
1:19:33hits all those notes particularly when I
1:19:35was a kid the heart of this movie was
1:19:36him riding his bike behind the truck
1:19:38which is not the most important part of
1:19:39this movie but it was like look at this
1:19:41cool thing that they're doing in the
1:19:42sport that you previously didn't care
1:19:44about but suddenly it seems really cool
1:19:46and I don't all of my friends wanted to
1:19:48ride behind a truck to see how fast you
1:19:49can go on 10-speed bike oh I love this
1:19:51by the way Phil technically gymkata is a
1:19:53celebration of both gymnastics and
1:19:55martial arts
1:19:56haha let's be accurate here you know
1:19:59it's you say that this is a focus on on
1:20:01bicycling and yet we don't have an
1:20:03actual bike race until an hour and one
1:20:06minute into the movie well it was the
1:20:08whole training thing like the idea that
1:20:09he is dedicating his life to this that
1:20:11the tennspeed bikes are a cool thing yes
1:20:13but I mean it's not about the biking and
1:20:15that he can you can use to pick up girls
1:20:16because he can catch up to them even
1:20:17though they're on a motorized scooter he
1:20:19can bring back her notebook and he you
1:20:21know he's training out in the rain on
1:20:23the little the you know the the trainer
1:20:25wheelie thingy and he's Brydon behind
1:20:27the truck and he races with the Italians
1:20:29and it's that again like this is the
1:20:31movie so much more than that but it fits
1:20:32neatly right into that slot because I
1:20:34trying to think of another what is it
1:20:36what is another 80s bike racing movie I
1:20:38mean you've got you've got rad for BMS
1:20:40that's a different right gleaming the
1:20:42cube is that a biking Thank You morning
1:20:44mallesh skateboard wasn't wasn't Kevin
1:20:46Bacon the movie about bike messenger
1:20:48silver okay Quicksilver god damn it can
1:20:53make anything cool like bike messengers
1:20:55that bet they're cool too sure we make
1:20:56it any shoes me about them and bike
1:20:58messaging is life this movie is not a
1:21:00movie about a used car salesman ship
1:21:02this is a different movie about making
1:21:03that cool yeah so yeah the things I want
1:21:06the things I love about this movie um I
1:21:08love the fact that you can watch it as a
1:21:10young man as I did and be all yeah young
1:21:14man you've you've capsule youyou've
1:21:16encapsulated my feelings about life or
1:21:18you can watch it now as an old man as
1:21:20I'd rico that that Paul Dooley character
1:21:23really resonates me um love that love
1:21:27the Paul Dooley Dennis Christopher
1:21:29relationship in this movie um okay what
1:21:35I so here's my here's my thing I think
1:21:37the pole the the dad father-son
1:21:39relationship ends up being great but at
1:21:42the beginning when he's all like oh it's
1:21:44Italian oh I don't know and all that I
1:21:47feel like I I don't like him and I feel
1:21:50like he's a kind of a ridiculous
1:21:51caricature at that point so okay I takes
1:21:54me awhile to get and to get to get to
1:21:58understand him he's got the whole Hill
1:21:59thumb is diploma at me thing which seems
1:22:01and so I mean again do I think that
1:22:05there are people who are reluctant to
1:22:08support their children in higher
1:22:09education because
1:22:10as they are seeing them go further than
1:22:14them even though they should be proud of
1:22:15them yes there are those people the way
1:22:17he does it is so on-the-nose and so
1:22:19broad that I don't like it it's only
1:22:21when he finally acts like a human being
1:22:24in the last part of the movie that I
1:22:26appreciate that relationship he's not a
1:22:27human being in the first part he's just
1:22:29a caricature well in his defense of
1:22:31Italian stuff is incredibly irritating I
1:22:34can kind of series coming through but he
1:22:36doesn't respond like a human being to it
1:22:38he's just as a dummy like response
1:22:40dynamic in the house is that he makes
1:22:42these pronouncements and that his wife
1:22:43moderates and everyone agrees to
1:22:45basically ignore his ranting and ravings
1:22:47because this is the dynamic in the
1:22:48family like no one is taking him
1:22:49seriously and the Sun is not being
1:22:51crushed by those things the Sun is
1:22:52crushed instead later when he's in his
1:22:54bedroom and hears him through the wall
1:22:55when he's not when they thinks he's
1:22:57speaking you know privately or he's
1:22:58actually angry about it but but yeah I
1:23:00think that's part of the sale here is it
1:23:01he's not a good dad especially in the
1:23:03beginning and he's his own frustrations
1:23:05are coming and my note says dad sucks
1:23:07that's oh there's so much else though
1:23:10that's goofy and caricature in this
1:23:13movie that to me it just kind of blended
1:23:14in I mean the whole his whole Italian
1:23:16thing is way over the top I mean you
1:23:20know obviously you've got the
1:23:20ridiculously 80s villain performance
1:23:23from ballast and I mean everything is
1:23:25just kind of a little off kilter and a
1:23:28bit more I feel like this movie is the
1:23:30spiritual predecessor to a Christmas
1:23:32store where this is kind of sense of and
1:23:34it will take place in Indiana and they
1:23:36both take place around a dyspeptic
1:23:37father and a moderating mother and the
1:23:39idea is that your life becomes imbued
1:23:42with as much drama as you care to put
1:23:44into it in half of the time you're
1:23:45living inside your own head they're
1:23:47basically the same movie let me just say
1:23:50as the son of a caricature dyspeptic
1:23:53father from Indiana um nothing painfully
1:23:56on the girls giving you dodge those
1:23:58jeans huh parts of this movie really
1:24:01resonate for for our fill so all right
1:24:05yeah let's just say did why are we
1:24:09watching this documentary see ya you're
1:24:13in the movie yep so yeah it works for me
1:24:17okay oh my god no I I love that I love
1:24:19the scene where barbara barry puts the
1:24:21moves on offensive side and with the
1:24:23ha that is he puts out the candle with
1:24:26his fingers this is big you know his
1:24:28bravado just move that's his finishing
1:24:31move the bit where he sensuously pulls
1:24:33his pocket protector out to the Italian
1:24:35operas yes daringly money and I do I
1:24:39actually like the scene where he goes
1:24:41back to the quarry to we're worried
1:24:43where he worked as a young man those
1:24:45glory days a tu correo sure sure yeah
1:24:47I'm gonna drive a few wedges attend to
1:24:49realizes I cannot do that anymore I did
1:24:53it is all all past me but um the other
1:24:56thing that I really enjoy about breaking
1:24:59away is the fact that it's directed by
1:25:02an Englishman um Peter yay to his other
1:25:07big movies are bullet one of my favorite
1:25:10cop movies by the way and possibly a
1:25:12future old movie love entry he did hot
1:25:15rock which is a really good k / movie
1:25:17and um he later on he would do the
1:25:21dresser which is a nice character study
1:25:23and it just it's always astounded me
1:25:27that this guy who did not grow up in
1:25:30America really managed to tap into this
1:25:33little slice of American middle America
1:25:36Americana in perhaps a cliched way as
1:25:40some of you think but really it strut it
1:25:44really has an authentic feel to me again
1:25:46as someone who well I didn't grow up in
1:25:50the Midwest I have parents from the
1:25:52Midwest and they're both eerie indiana
1:25:53very indiana and this really resonates
1:25:57with me i can't tell you enough how much
1:26:00this movie feels like I'm watching a
1:26:03family movie being shot trust an English
1:26:07man to amplify the class issues though
1:26:09because that's one of the might one of
1:26:11my favorite scenes in this movie is so
1:26:13when we're Paul Dooley's character talks
1:26:15about you know he takes great pride in
1:26:17having mind that Corey and having built
1:26:19at university but then once he built it
1:26:22it was made really evident to him that
1:26:23you're going to billys were to the
1:26:26buildings were too good for us yeah
1:26:27you're good so it but you're not going
1:26:28to I love that scene and I feel like
1:26:31that scene needed somebody who's outside
1:26:34of America and connection say yeah there
1:26:36is a class
1:26:37him in the US and here it is because I
1:26:38don't know if I don't know if an
1:26:40American could have approached it with
1:26:41the same clarity and vigor that he did
1:26:44well eighties movies love doing that to
1:26:46the rich kids versus the poor kid so it
1:26:47was a lot of movies in the 80s
1:26:49especially young people movies were
1:26:51about class and about you know the
1:26:53preppies versus the you know the Slavs
1:26:56versus the snobs uh-huh and it most of
1:26:59those movies we're trying to make you
1:27:00reckon you know identify with the
1:27:02disaffected people because they were the
1:27:03majority you weren't really uh
1:27:04identifying with the preppies unless
1:27:06except for I guess class no one was the
1:27:09opposite but yes we makes movies it's
1:27:12not preppies it's feel nerds yeah yeah
1:27:14thus movie hits me very much in the same
1:27:16place as its contemporary the bad news
1:27:19bears hits me in terms of the way it's
1:27:21filmed and the way it is very true to a
1:27:25certain part of the country in the 1970s
1:27:28yeah the the the good those guys with
1:27:32blue jeans and no shirts swimming around
1:27:34in a quarry is that could not be more
1:27:3770s yeah it's fantastic I mean it really
1:27:40puts you in the place and it does it in
1:27:43an interestingly different more
1:27:45Midwestern way and obviously bad news
1:27:47bears is a Southern California and it
1:27:49feels very different in that respect but
1:27:51it also it just feels very very real and
1:27:53gritty in a way yeah this has the 70s in
1:27:56it like with the with the water racing
1:27:58again could could be in any 80s movies
1:28:00you know what wouldn't be in the 80
1:28:01movies him hitting his head and coming
1:28:03back bloodied and playing that not for
1:28:06laughs but for a serious moment so his
1:28:08friends can jump in and save him yeah
1:28:09that's 70's movie really makes him fail
1:28:12comically and may it turns out into a
1:28:14joke and you know what when I was a kid
1:28:16watching this is another one of these
1:28:17movies that I remember watching and
1:28:19realizing there was something different
1:28:21or special about this movie as compared
1:28:23to the other movies that I was used to
1:28:24seeing not because it was like a rated r
1:28:26movie that I shouldn't have been
1:28:27watching or something but because it
1:28:29took itself seriously and was willing to
1:28:31show what I thought as a kid where these
1:28:33you know deeper truth about life that
1:28:35other movies that adults won't show you
1:28:37like the people behaving badly or
1:28:40feeling badly and doing things that are
1:28:43not a durable and making mistakes and
1:28:45failure and they're being consequences
1:28:47mixed in with all the rest of the
1:28:49schlock
1:28:49you know that would come to be standard
1:28:51in eighties movies but that that really
1:28:53spoke to me as a kid that like I took
1:28:55this movie much more seriously than all
1:28:56the movies despite all the fun things
1:28:58that were there to entertain me that it
1:29:00took its character seriously and that
1:29:02there was actual real emotion in it and
1:29:04you know of course I'm identifying with
1:29:05the disaffected kids and hanging out
1:29:07with each other and feeling like losers
1:29:08even though you know I felt like it even
1:29:11though I knew I was going to go to
1:29:12college somehow i watch this movie and
1:29:14identify with the people who are never
1:29:15going to go to college and till the end
1:29:17and maybe it's that sensibility or maybe
1:29:19it's just the sort of gritty seventies
1:29:21ish pneus of it but I kept expecting
1:29:23some sort of tragic event to occur yeah
1:29:26like yeah yeah kind much kind of had a
1:29:28target on his back for a lot yeah yeah
1:29:30Dennis Quaid disappears into the fridge
1:29:33I'm like oh my God he's gonna drown is
1:29:35really early in the movie and then a
1:29:36little bit later uh you know he's he's
1:29:38chasing after the truck and I'm like
1:29:40he's gonna run right to the back of that
1:29:41truck is an eighties montage sequence
1:29:45there Paul Dooley gets up on top and
1:29:47starts driving a wedge into a big block
1:29:49of rock I'm like he's gonna have that
1:29:50heart attack right there he's gonna die
1:29:51and he did a couple scenes later and it
1:29:55but I mean it was kind of like a minor
1:29:56thing he had that heart attack refund
1:29:58but it just there was sort of that sort
1:30:00of sense that something there's there's
1:30:02gonna be a tragic moment here having
1:30:04never seen it before I didn't know if it
1:30:05was gonna be light or if there was at
1:30:07some point gonna be a real low low yeah
1:30:09so comparing this to American Graffiti
1:30:10after watching both of them I felt like
1:30:12American Graffiti wants to tell you that
1:30:14all this is going away and breaking away
1:30:16once it wants to tell you that good
1:30:19things can still happen to you in your
1:30:20future like that's what it's not like
1:30:22that the jack girl hey we'll get married
1:30:24and you feel like you will have a life
1:30:25as an adult and we'll leave all this
1:30:27behind that the day will go to college
1:30:28like that the this movie I mean I don't
1:30:31know if it's like lying to you and wants
1:30:32to leave it's not as bad as you think it
1:30:34is actually things will work out in the
1:30:35end that that you will you will have
1:30:39victories again that you will regain
1:30:41your sense of self-worth and good things
1:30:43will happen to you and american graffiti
1:30:44is like that won't happen Mike's cop
1:30:47brother who will occasionally like hug
1:30:49bike right like that that in the end
1:30:51they were all they were friends who care
1:30:53for each other and they had families who
1:30:55cared like it was not everything is not
1:30:57as bad as you think it is you're a bunch
1:30:58of whiney white kids in the Midwest and
1:31:00it seems bad and you feels like you're
1:31:03being
1:31:03you know under the thumb of these
1:31:05college kids but in the end you have it
1:31:06pretty good yeah just because you're
1:31:08stuck in this town doesn't mean you're
1:31:10necessarily lesser than that writer that
1:31:11moved to Canada yeah just because you're
1:31:14stuck doesn't mean you're stuck I mean
1:31:16that's what I love about the ending of
1:31:17it is that Paul Dooley's on a bicycle
1:31:18yeah yeah and he has that kicky sign in
1:31:21front of his used car dealership and the
1:31:23fact that you see him I'm the bicycle i
1:31:25think it's just huge you know and i love
1:31:28that it showed i love that it shows that
1:31:30evolution of his character and I feel
1:31:32like that's actually the biggest piece
1:31:33of hope there is that it's never too
1:31:35late to to try something new and become
1:31:38a person you didn't expect to be yeah
1:31:40and Paul Dooley is younger than all of
1:31:42us in this movie isn't he like it's
1:31:43nothing watching at him i'm looking at
1:31:44his hair is like his hair is all black
1:31:46how old is he made this movie I don't
1:31:48know but I feel like he's younger than
1:31:49me in this movie and I'm watching that
1:31:51doesn't feel good all I know he was 50
1:31:55he was he was in his early 50s all right
1:31:58yeah a little bit better than he's using
1:31:59hair do it yeah I so I I agree with what
1:32:03everybody is saying here I there is one
1:32:04thing I wanted to point out here so this
1:32:05this movie was nominated for four
1:32:09screenplay won the Academy Award for
1:32:11Best Screenplay um and you know
1:32:15sometimes the Academy Award is not the
1:32:19best thing and sometimes the best thing
1:32:21isn't that great but I'm going to say
1:32:22this I'm shocked that this movie won an
1:32:25award for the screenplay if only because
1:32:26I find essentially everything Dennis
1:32:29Quaid says into this movie to be
1:32:31painfully awful writing there is no the
1:32:36opposite of show not tell this movie
1:32:37tells you does not show it's too yeah I
1:32:39in fact John my note says Dennis Quaid
1:32:42speech at the stadium is the classic
1:32:44example of tell not show he literally
1:32:47just says everything he's feeling and
1:32:49everything that's going to happen and
1:32:51what his internal conflict is and that's
1:32:53not the only scene in which especially
1:32:54the Dennis Quaid character says oh I'm a
1:32:57symbol of somebody who peaked in high
1:32:59school and now doesn't know what to do
1:33:00I'm never gonna be the quarterback
1:33:02anymore it's like oh my god it is so bad
1:33:05I mean so I think it one for writing
1:33:06because like it is telling it is telling
1:33:08truths right but it's having characters
1:33:10actually say them and when I watch this
1:33:11as a kid show the show don't tell thing
1:33:14was not a glimmer
1:33:15you know in the corner of my eye I had
1:33:17no idea about that whole concept so it
1:33:19was delivering to me directly in a way
1:33:21that I couldn't picked up it was more
1:33:22subtle and watching it again as an adult
1:33:24having seen it a million times as a kid
1:33:26I'm like oh this movie doesn't
1:33:28understand show not tell I'm willing to
1:33:30forgive it though because it's such a
1:33:31beloved movie from my childhood but yeah
1:33:33that's one what once you get past Dennis
1:33:35quite Quaid's abs which are again
1:33:39spectacular edit shredded like lettuce
1:33:41oh just still not passed them he is the
1:33:44weakest character I think of all the
1:33:47ones he's an idea more than a character
1:33:49on his acting scenes where he's not
1:33:51speaking the expressions on his face and
1:33:54the few outbursts that he does have that
1:33:56aren't you know George Lucas on the nose
1:33:58the style dialog I think he he does I
1:34:03mean there's a reason he went on to
1:34:04further stardom in this movie I think he
1:34:06does a good job of it but if you got to
1:34:08read the lines you gotta read the lines
1:34:09and he's a he's a mood he's a movie
1:34:10stern on the nectar but the the the the
1:34:14the other four movies up for Best
1:34:16Original Screenplay that year were and
1:34:18justice for all all that jazz the China
1:34:20Syndrome and Manhattan and you know yeah
1:34:25so you know maybe not the strongest i
1:34:28like this movie better than any of those
1:34:29movies as yeah maybe the best of those
1:34:32and it may not have been as strong year
1:34:34for screenplays i just i had that moment
1:34:35where I kind of was like wait a second
1:34:36this one for the screenplay because the
1:34:38Quaid dialogue is just awful it is in
1:34:40fact if I if you wipe my memory of this
1:34:42movie in American Graffiti and then you
1:34:45you play them both for me and said which
1:34:46one was written by George Lucas I would
1:34:48say this one because this dialogue is
1:34:51prequel level dialogue from dennis quaid
1:34:54it is just there's nothing there no I i
1:34:56think the the expressions are
1:34:58sophisticated and well put together the
1:35:01fact is he's saying them out loud is the
1:35:02process like said that thats exactly
1:35:04this would have simplistic ideas
1:35:07expressed that loud at least this i feel
1:35:09like this he's saying the subtext oh
1:35:10yeah the subtext is is good he's one
1:35:13he's one of four characters that all
1:35:15have that all have plot lines it's it's
1:35:17true actually five if you count the dead
1:35:18so I mean you got to put some
1:35:20short-handed I wish Quaid yeah I wish
1:35:22Dennis Quaid had been given more to do
1:35:23to show us his feelings about this
1:35:27matter but instead he like literally
1:35:28goes
1:35:28to the stadium and points down and says
1:35:30I will never be that quarterback what
1:35:32got it got it oh yeah like they can fit
1:35:34that in there he can't have one line
1:35:35about them stay in this is simple man
1:35:37he's gonna have like four madam school
1:35:39the worst is when he talks about the
1:35:40unlit cigarettes like just haven't do
1:35:43that for the whole movie and we'll
1:35:44figure it out instead it's like I even I
1:35:46can't bring myself to live cigarette
1:35:47because I think I'm gonna have to go
1:35:48back into training like that's a perfect
1:35:50thing for you to write in the margins of
1:35:51your script while you're riding it was
1:35:53just look inside we can add the
1:35:54characters say it yeah his best moments
1:35:56by far are like the scene where he's at
1:35:58the quarry and the college kids show up
1:36:00and he just looks at him yeah right yeah
1:36:02he's very good at that Quaid is not the
1:36:04problem right it's the lines that he's
1:36:06given that I think are the problem in a
1:36:07movie that I like but that's just that
1:36:09for me that was the false note
1:36:10especially I think the second half of
1:36:12this film is way stronger than the first
1:36:14half because I don't like the early
1:36:15scenes with the dad and I don't like
1:36:16those speeches from dennis quaid and
1:36:19then I think it gets a lot better later
1:36:20I don't know what what that means but
1:36:22that's that's right now I think you can
1:36:23let Dennis Quaid do it like the line i
1:36:25quoted in the slacker layers like when
1:36:27he's angry you can have him snap like
1:36:29you're not the quarterback here Mike
1:36:30well at least I was once you get that
1:36:32one outbursts what you get at least I
1:36:33was once you get one outbursts you don't
1:36:35get him sight and for the rest of the
1:36:37movie I will continue to speak the
1:36:38subtext of my plot of the four friends
1:36:41though the one that really i think does
1:36:43the has the best thing going for him is
1:36:46the the the daniel stern character
1:36:49because um uh he he has a few lines
1:36:54where it's okay yeah you're you're
1:36:56you're showing not telling but what I
1:36:58really love about him is in the bike
1:37:00race um you know gross gross Jackie
1:37:04Earle Haley has his wife to hug and he's
1:37:07just looking around Dennis Christopher
1:37:09gets to hug his parents and um uh Dennis
1:37:12Quaid gets dug his brother the cop right
1:37:14to Daniel Stern has a smoke where he's
1:37:18looking around for someone to hug and
1:37:19gets no one enjoys yeah so heartbreaking
1:37:23that CIA sir really heartbreaking but
1:37:25they allude to it earlier when they say
1:37:27well Cyril's dad remember one when
1:37:29Dave's dad talks about well so you're
1:37:30like he is you know yeah he's the one
1:37:33obviously as an East Coast neurotic you
1:37:36identify with the most because he was
1:37:38the most like inside his own head and
1:37:40seemingly doesn't fit in anywhere and
1:37:42never will and probably will be the
1:37:44loser of this group forever well he
1:37:46picked up that guitar quick though see
1:37:47him just drift in the wind like he's
1:37:49trying to be happy he's but like there's
1:37:51nothing yeah well this is the reason I
1:37:53like Dave's dead as he seems to sense
1:37:54that a lot of Dave's friends need to be
1:37:57parented I mean there's a reason why
1:37:59mooch is at that table a lot and I get
1:38:02the sense that Dave's dad probably also
1:38:04is it is a gruff ear for cereal every
1:38:07once in a while too because cereals dad
1:38:08is well established as a jerk store and
1:38:10Tom yeah you don't get the sense that
1:38:12that Dave's friends are very well
1:38:14parented at all and that his his parents
1:38:15are the only ones who are involved in
1:38:17that all of his friends like that and
1:38:18kind of need that on some level as well
1:38:19well moochers dad took off to Chicago
1:38:21and left him in the house yeah expecting
1:38:24him to sell its own oh yeah the house
1:38:25that's for sale you got the first sale
1:38:26so so we've been I mean then what we
1:38:28does does have bits it's not like they
1:38:30all the subtext is on the screen of the
1:38:32dialogue well some of the news but yeah
1:38:33the rest of the movie is is pretty
1:38:35strong it's just that like idea of that
1:38:37you have to have shorthand because
1:38:38you've got a lot of characters you gotta
1:38:39fit all and that's the art of screen
1:38:40right you gotta find a way to get the
1:38:43five because i think this does a really
1:38:44good job of weaving together the arcs
1:38:46and having a bunch of good scenes like a
1:38:48bunch of good ideas for cinema like when
1:38:50he's driving his beat-up automobile
1:38:52backwards next to the mercedes you know
1:38:54and there are sort of hot rodding around
1:38:55trying to chase after the college kids
1:38:57and everything lots of good things that
1:38:59work as movies is just that you know a
1:39:01few dialogue scenes they feel like you
1:39:04have to give these seven ideas in and we
1:39:05need to get in and out in this amount of
1:39:07time and it was like all right well I'm
1:39:09just gonna say it I'm just gonna say
1:39:10what's mostly going on I throw up my
1:39:11hands at this boy yeah but again as a
1:39:13kid um this never occurred to make
1:39:15watching this movie the many many many
1:39:17times it never occurred to me that they
1:39:18were saying is out like is it because
1:39:19that because that's what I needed to you
1:39:21know as a kid you're not going to pick
1:39:22up on this stuff if they don't like
1:39:23literally come out and tell you in the
1:39:25same way that you read you know books
1:39:26when you're in middle school in the
1:39:27English teacher has to explain to you
1:39:28this is what this means because if the
1:39:30English teacher doesn't explain it to
1:39:31you you will have a dim vague distant
1:39:33awareness of it but not really ever put
1:39:35two and two together and this would we
1:39:36just comes out and says it yes I feel
1:39:39time to thank you movie for saying that
1:39:40I do want to call out as it as a
1:39:42plus the the scene where he's racing
1:39:44with the Italians and they Jam a rod
1:39:47through his back his back wheel sending
1:39:50him into the dirt I actually had a hard
1:39:52time watching it the second time because
1:39:54it is so heartbreaking I don't watch his
1:39:56dreams just Schatz right what that's why
1:39:59when you're a kid you're like yes yes
1:40:01life life is terrible never meet your
1:40:04idols is the lesson although i will say
1:40:06that when the guy messes with his
1:40:08shifters the look of sheer outrage on
1:40:10his face is absolutely hysterical i
1:40:12laughed and laughed but then he's in
1:40:14he's in the gutter and that's it he's
1:40:16done that posters are coming down yeah
1:40:18that he has that that that chilling line
1:40:22where he just lays out everybody cheats
1:40:24I just didn't know yeah that's it his
1:40:27life so this is unfair the professional
1:40:29bike riders would never do that of any
1:40:31nationality let's say I gotta say though
1:40:34you have to say that chin zono is a
1:40:36apparently really really good sports or
1:40:39they apparently just never saw this film
1:40:41because they are thanked in the credits
1:40:43while they are thanked in the credits
1:40:44there's the truck is a chin zano truck
1:40:46it is like product placement before
1:40:49there was product placement yes fortunes
1:40:52but then the point of the the Italian
1:40:55racers from shin zato is uh they're
1:40:57jerks Peters yep also phil when you
1:41:02mentioned peter yates you you didn't
1:41:04mention the most interesting thing about
1:41:05him which is that in 1983 he he two of
1:41:09his movies that he directed were
1:41:11released one of them multiple award
1:41:14nominee and winner the dresser the
1:41:17dresser yeah other eight movie crow and
1:41:22i just am fascinated that the same man
1:41:23made both crow and the dresser and also
1:41:26that the man who made crawl also made
1:41:28bullet and breaking away and the dresser
1:41:30yes I don't know how that is possible
1:41:32but it is well this is sort of similar
1:41:34to the John Boorman trajectory I think
1:41:37there's a deeper story there that we
1:41:38need to explore well they can't all be
1:41:42gems nothing can all be jealous can't
1:41:44amazing though just got released two
1:41:47movies this year period says one is the
1:41:50dresser I've heard of it yes well many
1:41:52Academy Award nominations for the
1:41:54dresser yes oh I liked it what was your
1:41:55other
1:41:56movie theater crow oh that thing with
1:41:58ken what's his name in the glades a
1:42:00glaive sure breaking a glaive anyway um
1:42:03I like breaking away i like i like i
1:42:06enjoy both these movies I like Steve I'm
1:42:08not sure I would say like I would rush
1:42:10back to watch either of them but in in a
1:42:13certain mood I think I could enjoy
1:42:15either of them as this you know nice
1:42:18kind of nostalgia trip of the
1:42:21coming-of-age stories are nice the
1:42:23ensembles are interesting I like that
1:42:25these are mostly both featuring actors
1:42:28who would go on to do other things and
1:42:30are recognizable and so young that is a
1:42:32big that is a big win too so that
1:42:35they're both charming in their own way
1:42:36you get pj soles in this one stirring
1:42:38stuff up as usual another 70s 80s movies
1:42:41mainstay Halloween's PJ stalls Breaking
1:42:45Away also ahead of a time ends on a
1:42:46freeze frame oh and it's such a freeze
1:42:48frame it is it's right because he turns
1:42:50back when he is a son singing in French
1:42:51yes speaking French now what Oh babies
1:42:55for men and then the Indiana fight song
1:42:57which went on to become another trope
1:42:59you know every movie in 1981-82 ended
1:43:02with the India yeah that's right uh
1:43:04anything we have not covered about these
1:43:07films that now we look we got it all
1:43:10right well I'm going to close up the old
1:43:13Movie Club then and thank our guests
1:43:15Lisa Schmeisser thank you for being here
1:43:17free grub thank you it's a pleasure to
1:43:19be invited John siracusa thank you I
1:43:21can't believe that I had to be on here
1:43:23with all you old people but I'll get
1:43:24over it yeah Oh movies Steve let's thank
1:43:28you stop the hell you doing those are my
1:43:30french fries hey no more Eenie in this
1:43:32house and of course Phillip Michaels who
1:43:36chooses the movies thanks these are
1:43:37enjoyed watching these movies Phil
1:43:39thanks for choosing them so I've been
1:43:40tried to do
1:43:43you can write these lines George but you
1:43:46can't say them and I've been your host
1:43:47Jason snow we will see you next week on
1:43:49the incomparable thanks for listening
1:43:50bye everybody
1:43:56you
1:43:58[Music]